New Mynds - Director's Cut
by DeadManSeven
Summary: New Mynds, with additional scenes and added extras. Now chaptered.
1. Preface: I'm Telling You For The Last Ti...

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis: Evangelion is not my property. It belong to   
  
GAINAX and all affiliates. I am not asking for any money for this   
  
written work. It is permissible to copy, quote, distribute, or in any   
  
other way reproduce the following texts only if they contain this   
  
disclaimer and credit to the author, or I will strike you down with   
  
great vengeance and furious anger.  
  
  
  
  
*Preface - I'm Telling You For The Last Time...*  
  
  
  
This is the final version of New Mynds. After I have finished writing   
  
this document I will try to forget it exists. I do, however, hope you   
  
do not. If you want further insight (God help us all if you do) on my   
  
thoughts and comments of this piece of fanfiction, there is also a   
  
version of New Mynds unindexed.  
  
  
  
The idea for New Mynds originated with one episode, designed to divert   
  
the series at 'Asuka Strikes!'. I had never planned to write further,   
  
but more ideas, scenes, alterations and such kept flooding my mind,   
  
and what you will see on your screen if what the storm brought about.   
  
You may love it. You may hate it. You may wonder how little a life I   
  
had while I was writing. But for now that doesn't matter. What does   
  
matter is that it's finished, and that someone has taken the time to   
  
have a look at it. So here, in it's final genesis, is New Mynds.  
  
  
  
-Derek Zischke  
  
Ziscke In The Jar Productions (c)  
  
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~lox18/Index.htm  
  
deadmanseven@optushome.com.au  
  
  
  
  
  
"Do you suffer from long-term memory loss? I can't remember..."  
  
-Chumbawhamba  



	2. Episode 8': With One Flashing Accord/To ...

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis: Evangelion is not my property. It belong to   
  
GAINAX and all affiliates. I am not asking for any money for this   
  
written work. It is permissible to copy, quote, distribute, or in any   
  
other way reproduce the following texts only if they contain this   
  
disclaimer and credit to the author, or I will strike you down with   
  
great vengeance and furious anger.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
*With One Flashing Accord/To Remove What Hides Our Heart...*  
  
  
  
Commander Gendo Ikari had just finished reading a large document that   
  
sat in front of him. It contained information about the next   
  
Evangelion, the production model. Ikari placed the sheets back into a   
  
folder marked 'Top Secret' and addressed the man standing behind him.  
  
"So Unit Two will not be ready for another two weeks?"  
  
"I'm afraid so," said Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki. "There's just too much   
  
red tape. Also, we're having trouble finding a large enough fleet to   
  
transport the Eva."  
  
"Understood. What's the repair status on Unit Zero?"  
  
"It's going quite well. If all goes to plan, Unit Zero can be running   
  
in ten days."  
  
"So we have no other protection but Unit One?"  
  
"That is correct. But it seems to be working so far."  
  
"Yes. But not without its share of problems. The old men of Seele are   
  
still sore about that stunt Katsuragi pulled with the last Angel."  
  
Suddenly, a loud siren sounded. From the area below him, Ikari heard   
  
Lt. Ibuki call out, "Blue reading off the East Coast. It's definitely   
  
an Angel!"  
  
"The next Angel, hmm?" said Fuyutsuki.  
  
"Call Captain Katsuragi and the Third Child here. Now!"  
  
  
  
The phone rang at Misato's apartment. Shinji answered it, as Misato   
  
was in a comatose state on the floor in her room. He hoped it wouldn't   
  
be important.  
  
"Uh, hello?"  
  
"Shinji?" Shinji tried to place the voice, but couldn't. He decided it   
  
was too early in the morning for his recall to be working properly.  
  
"Who is this?" he asked, still not at full alert because he had been   
  
woken by the ringing phone.  
  
"This is Lieutenant Aoba. There's been a state of emergency declared.   
  
We need you and the Captain down here now."  
  
"But, Misato's still...sleeping..."  
  
"Well, wake her up! This is important!"  
  
"Yes, okay."  
  
Shinji hung up the phone and steeled himself to do one of the tasks he   
  
hated most: reviving a hung-over Misato.  
  
  
  
"Well?"  
  
"The Third Child may not arrive here on time, Commander. His   
  
guardian..."  
  
"I suspected as much. Very well. Brief Rei and have her on stand-by at   
  
the holding cage. Be prepared to re-write Unit One's personal data   
  
files if necessary. I want this Angel stopped before it reaches the   
  
land."  
  
"Yes, sir!"  
  
  
  
Shinji walked into Misato's room, to find a crumpled heap lying on the   
  
floor, just as he had thought. Oh well, he had done this before...  
  
"Misato...Misato, wake up..."  
  
He got a response: a mumbled, "Just five more minutes..."  
  
Dammit, why did she have to be like this?  
  
  
  
Shigeru sped through the streets of Tokyo-3. Without any of the   
  
traffic due to the evacuation, he could make the trip to Misato's   
  
apartment in perhaps one-third of the time. The Third Child wasn't   
  
necessary for this mission (or so said the Commander), because they   
  
had Rei, but Misato should be at Nerv to oversee everything. Protocol.   
  
And seeing as they would need to configure Unit One for Rei if Shinji   
  
wasn't there, why not kill two birds with one stone?, thought Shigeru,   
  
swinging the wheel to turn a sharp corner.  
  
  
  
Shinji heard the tire skid, even from the apartment, because of the   
  
large scarceness of cars in Tokyo-3 this morning. However, he didn't   
  
really begin paying attention to the sound until he heard his name   
  
being called from below.  
  
"Shinji! Shinji!"  
  
Shinji ran to the balcony and looked down. There was a car, and   
  
someone standing by it that he couldn't identify from this level.  
  
"Shinji! Get Misato down here now!"  
  
Well, getting her to the elevator might be easier than trying to wake   
  
her up.  
  
  
  
After a few rounds of instant coffee and some jerks from Shigeru's   
  
reckless driving, Misato came out of her totally unconscious state.   
  
Shinji just looked out the car window and tried to hold on if the   
  
Lieutenant tried to do something stupid, like taking an intersection   
  
without braking. Lt. Aoba, throughout the whole trip, had his head   
  
close to the wheel, as if he was a racecar driver. Shinji thought to   
  
himself, _He must have other hobbies, besides playing the air guitar._  
  
  
  
After suiting up, sitting in the entry plug and experiencing the odd   
  
sensation of LCL filling his lungs and supplying them with oxygen,   
  
Shinji waited for his instructions on the intercom. At the moment, all   
  
he heard was Misato and Ritsuko arguing mildly about Misato's coffee.  
  
"Shinji, can you hear me?" Good, they've stopped, thought Shinji as he   
  
heard Misato's voice directed toward him.  
  
"Yes, I can hear you."  
  
"This Angel is coming in from the sea. It's important that you try and   
  
stop it before it reaches the land. Do you understand?"  
  
"Yeah, I get it. Not to fight near the people, right?" An unpleasant   
  
memory flashed through his head: Toji hitting him, because of his   
  
injured sister.  
  
"That's one of the reasons. Just remember all of the simulations and   
  
you should have no trouble. Ready?"  
  
"I'm ready."  
  
"Launch Eva!"  
  
  
  
The Evangelion shot up the tube to the surface. After the initial jerk   
  
of stopping, Shinji surveyed his surroundings; a scattering of   
  
buildings to his left, and in front of him, the open ocean.  
  
And the Angel.  
  
It looked more like the first Angel he had fought; that is, it was   
  
vaguely human in shape, as opposed to the other two Angels he had   
  
seen. At first glance, the large greyish blob didn't look like it was   
  
capable of destruction on a citywide scale, but (as Shinji had learnt   
  
well in the past month or so) appearances could be deceptive. He   
  
gripped the controls, feeling the Positron Rifle his Eva held instead   
  
of the metallic grips, due to the LCL, synchronising his thoughts with   
  
the Eva's actions. He charged.  
  
The Angel twisted it's what-could-have-passed-for-a-head, seemingly   
  
looking at the running Unit One. Before giving it time to attack,   
  
Shinji raised the rifle and fired.  
  
  
  
Underground, Misato and Ritsuko watched the screen with an almost   
  
hypnotic intensity.  
  
"He can't miss at that range, can he?" asked Misato.  
  
"I shouldn't think so. But still, we know almost nothing about the   
  
Angels," Ritsuko replied, not lifting her eyes.  
  
_Except that they have the same DNA as us,_ Misato thought but didn't   
  
dare speak.  
  
On the screen, the smoke was beginning to clear. Shinji had learnt   
  
from his mistake with the second one, Misato saw. She could make   
  
out...two? Were there two shapes in the smoke? Had Shinji split it   
  
down the middle?  
  
Then a glowing green light began to pulse in the smoke. The Angel was   
  
still alive!  
  
"Shinji! Look out!" Misato yelled into the intercom.  
  
Before the Eva had chance to move, Misato saw the light flash, and   
  
heard Shinji's scream, and knew this battle was over.  
  
  
  
"The Angel appears to have split into two divisions following the   
  
attack on Unit One. It currently is in a state of regeneration, after   
  
being wounded by Unit One's Positron Rifle, which we have calculated   
  
to end in eight days. Seeing as we only have Unit One at full repair   
  
status..."  
  
"What about Unit Zero?" Misato asked, interrupting Maya's report.  
  
"Unit Zero cannot be repaired in that space of time, Captain."  
  
"Actually, it can," Fuyutsuki said from the back of the small   
  
projection room. "The Commander likes to have flexibility on the   
  
repair projects, in case of situations like this."  
  
"So can Unit Zero be ready before the Angel has healed?" Misato asked   
  
Fuyutsuki.  
  
"It's possible."  
  
"What for, Captain?"  
  
"Unit One won't be able to handle both Angels. I believe we should use   
  
both Evas in a simultaneous attack, eight days from now."  
  
  
  
Gendo Ikari opened a drawer in his desk with a telephone inside it. He   
  
picked up the receiver and rapidly dialled a mobile phone number.  
  
"Hello," a pleasant male voice answered on the other end.  
  
"It's me."  
  
"Ah, yes. To what do I owe the honour?"  
  
"When will you arrive in Tokyo-3?"  
  
"When you send over the new Unit. All of the documentation is in   
  
order, I believe."  
  
"Correct." A pause. "You have it with you?"  
  
"I'm looking at it now. You seem to be very anxious to get this into   
  
your possession, Ikari."  
  
"I told you not to use my name on this line."  
  
"Sorry." The man's voice suggested that he wasn't at all. "Until we   
  
talk again..."  
  
"Goodbye."  
  
  
  
"How do you feel, Shinji?"  
  
"My head still hurts...but it's been worse." Shinji replied to Misato,   
  
and mentally added to himself: _being on this noisy train doesn't   
  
help._  
  
  
  
Shinji's headache had been getting better after he got off the train,   
  
and just walking back to the apartment seemed to help as well. He   
  
decided to take his mind off it by talking.  
  
"How are we going to defeat this one? If there are still two of   
  
them..."  
  
"I've thought about that. Shinji, you and Rei will both be attacking   
  
the Angel in eight days. But seeing as both parts are controlled by   
  
the same mind, you will need to attack simultaneously, in order to   
  
catch it off-guard."  
  
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea, Misato."  
  
"Well, you should actually thank Dr. Akagi for it. But there could be   
  
one or two...problems..."  
  
"What sort of problems?" Shinji asked cautiously.  
  
"Your sync ratio has to rise significantly for you to be able to pilot   
  
the Eva with enough precision. But the tests should take care of that.   
  
You'll going to have to be pulled from school for a week. Rei too. But   
  
I'm sure you catch up."  
  
Shinji sighed inwardly. He didn't exactly dislike the sync tests, but   
  
if he had to go through a whole week of them...  
  
"What's the other problem?" he asked, not really wanting to know. They   
  
had reached the door of Misato's apartment.  
  
"The mission needs you to be not only in tune with your Eva, but in   
  
tune with your fellow pilot as well. Seeing as we can't get the same   
  
results from anything like the sync tests..."  
  
Misato's door slid open, and Shinji saw who had opened it.  
  
"...You and Rei will be living together."  
  
  
  
After his initial objection (which he never voiced), Shinji saw that   
  
maybe Rei being at the apartment might not be such a bad thing. After   
  
all, he decided over the evening meal, she was a far better cook that   
  
Misato was. And not nearly as embarrassing.  
  
  
  
"These aren't quite the readings we're looking for, are they?" Misato   
  
asked, glancing at the various displays over the screen looking in on   
  
the tank of LCL.  
  
"No...Shinji isn't doing as well as we expected. And it's been three   
  
days," Ritsuko replied. "Maya, lower the plug depth for Unit One   
  
another point three percent."  
  
"Is this really helping him? Trying to force his synchronisation?"   
  
Misato said, not without some compassion in her voice.  
  
"We're on a tight time schedule. It can't be helped." Ritsuko pressed   
  
down on a button on the control panel, activating the intercom.  
  
"That's all for today. You two can go and get cleaned up now."  
  
The various displays shut down, corresponding with Maya flipping off   
  
switches across the panel.  
  
"How are they getting along? At home, I mean?" Ritsuko asked out of   
  
interest.  
  
"I think Shinji's gotten used to the idea. As for Rei...well, she   
  
never really changes."  
  
  
  
Shinji lay awake in his room, staring at the ceiling. The day's sync   
  
tests had really worn him out, but still sleep did not find him. He   
  
was in the middle of considering drinking one of Misato's beers to   
  
knock himself out when he heard a noise from the living room.  
  
_Rei,_ he thought. _Is she awake too?_  
  
Shinji, deciding that at the moment anything was better than the   
  
silent agony of waiting for sleep to come, quietly crept out of his   
  
room and slowly tip-toed his way to the living room.  
  
In the darkness, he saw Rei's short-haired shadow played across the   
  
wall by the faint glow of the streetlights below. She was sitting   
  
cross-legged on the makeshift bed, seeming to Shinji that she was   
  
having a greater difficulty sleeping than he was.  
  
"Uh...Rei, why are you still up?" Shinji asked as he moved to sit next   
  
to Rei, who never flinched, not even to see who spoke to her.  
  
"I find it hard to sleep somewhere that is not my room," was her   
  
reply.  
  
"Can I talk to you? I...can't sleep myself."  
  
"If you wish, Pilot Ikari."  
  
Pilot Ikari. He hated being called that. It reminded him of his   
  
father, and of Eva, both as mysterious and frightening as the other.  
  
"Rei...could you call me Shinji?"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because...because here I'm not a pilot."  
  
No response.  
  
In the darkness, Shinji felt a question rise to his mind. If he asked   
  
it, he felt...he _knew_ that he would almost kick himself for asking   
  
it, but the old habits _do_ die the hardest.  
  
"Rei, how do you feel about my father?"  
  
"How am I supposed to feel?" Rei asked in her simple monotone.  
  
"You mean you don't know?"  
  
"No...what does it look like I feel, Shinji Ikari?"  
  
Shinji recalled the time he saw Rei and his father talking in the   
  
holding bay.  
  
"You look...happy, Rei."  
  
"Happy..." She paused, as if rolling the very concept around in her   
  
head, trying to fathom all of its implications. "What is happiness?"  
  
Before Shinji could think of a response, Rei turned her head to look   
  
at Shinji, moving for the first time in the conversation.  
  
"Could you show me...happiness?"  
  
Shinji would later try to analyse what had happened at that moment.   
  
Maybe it had been the pale light on Rei's face, the soulful longing   
  
behind her soulless words, or maybe it had just been his chronic lack   
  
of sleep. But these thoughts didn't come until later. Now, he only   
  
reacted.  
  
He leaned over and kissed her on the mouth.  
  
To Shinji, the kiss seemed to last forever. He felt he almost choked   
  
on his own tongue with the realisation that Rei was kissing him back.  
  
To Rei, it was as if the kiss had set off a blinding light, a   
  
radioactive flare in her mind, seeking out all the emotional   
  
experiences in her memory up until now and burning them with its very   
  
brightness.  
  
When they finally broke, Shinji realised that his hand now rested on   
  
Rei's shoulder. He stared into her deep, red eyes, and for the first   
  
time, he thought he saw compassion in them. Later, he would think he   
  
saw even amazement.  
  
"Thank you, Shinji," Rei whispered in the darkness, and lay down to   
  
sleep.  
  
After a moment of self-deliberation, Shinji lay down beside her.  
  
  
  
"Are these readings correct?" Maya asked in disbelief. When she didn't   
  
get a response, she glanced at Ritsuko, who was still staring at the   
  
screens.  
  
"They all...look right. But a five-point jump, overnight...maybe it   
  
just took time before Shinji began to show results."  
  
"Those aren't the readings I'm talking about, Doctor..."  
  
Ritsuko, not quite comprehending what Maya meant, thought about other   
  
readings. _What_ other readings? _Rei?_  
  
But Rei's sync level never changed...  
  
The display next to Shinji's told her otherwise.  
  
Five points higher.  
  
"What happened to those two last night?" Ritsuko asked in disbelief.  
  
  
  
Later that night, Shinji watched the floor of Misato's apartment   
  
intently. Misato was absent from the apartment, having gone back to   
  
Nerv to talk in detail with Ritsuko about him and Rei showing   
  
something after four days of sync tests. Both of them had been   
  
congratulated, but no one had noticed that Shinji was trying to avoid   
  
talking to Rei, feeling too awkward to say anything.  
  
Rei had come to sit next to him on the couch, and he had been so   
  
deeply absorbed in thought that he almost jumped a little when she   
  
spoke.  
  
"Shinji...," Rei said, seeming to Shinji to be as nervous as he had   
  
been feeling. That was the second time he had heard her say his name   
  
like that, and he was beginning to realise what it was that made him   
  
kiss her that night.  
  
"Y-yes?" he asked, stumbling over his words and looking up from the   
  
floor, into Rei's eyes.  
  
"Would you...kiss me again?"  
  
For a second Rei thought that Shinji was going to refuse, so she was   
  
almost surprised when he jerked forward quickly and pressed his lips   
  
against hers.  
  
She thought he had only intended the kiss to be short, but it changed   
  
rapidly into something else. Rei closed her eyes, lost in the moment,   
  
letting Shinji's warm breath play gently across her cheek. She clasped   
  
her hands around the back of his neck, drawing herself close to him,   
  
feeling his heart beat rhythmically. New emotions were beginning to   
  
clarify themselves in Rei's mind, as she felt Shinji's hands nervously   
  
touch her back, and then grow confidence, tightening and holding her   
  
close. She was, for the first time in her life, feeling a sense of   
  
self, a sense of _being,_ and...  
  
_It is very...pleasant,_ she though to herself, as the pair separated,   
  
still in each other's arms.  
  
"Hello! I'm home! You two had dinner yet?" Misato's voice and the   
  
sound of the closing door broke the silence in the apartment.  
  
  
  
Shinji watched the analogue counter slowly click over as the elevator   
  
descended. The events of yesterday played over in his mind: Rei...he   
  
wondered how he really felt about her. Did he like her? Did she like   
  
him? He glanced over to her, and was about to say her name, when she   
  
beat him to speaking.  
  
"Shinji?"  
  
"Yes, Rei?"  
  
"I feel...strange. There is no physical discomfort, but it seems like   
  
there is something missing. I feel an...emotion towards you that I   
  
don't know how to describe. It is not respect or admiration, but it   
  
seems similar, yet different. Do you know what I feel, Shinji?"  
  
Shinji stepped closer to Rei and said, "I think that's...love, Rei."  
  
"Love..." She paused and considered. "Do you feel...love too? Do   
  
you...love me?"  
  
"I...think I do."  
  
Rei turned her gaze away from the elevator doors and towards Shinji.   
  
For a second, they stayed unmoving, until Rei held out her hand to   
  
Shinji. He took it, his nervousness beginning to fade, and she felt   
  
herself smile at him. He smiled back, and knew that he truly was in   
  
love with her.  
  
  
  
Over the next three days, both pilots trained, synchronised, amazed   
  
Ritsuko and Maya, and got closer. The operation to destroy the Angel   
  
was carried off perfectly.  
  
  
  
Rei got off the train, thoughts clouding her mind. _Is this over? As I   
  
am returning to my room, will this stop what has begun?_  
  
  
  
In her barren apartment, Rei felt all the old, familiar, lifeless   
  
emotions come back to her. She couldn't go back to this room. She   
  
would go back to be with Shinji.  
  
But...  
  
The Commander's glasses, the pair that had broken when he had saved   
  
her life, and smiled at her, lay on the desk next to her bed. She had   
  
attached such importance to them, but for what? Had not the exact same   
  
thing occurred with Shinji, the only difference being that the second   
  
time, she had smiled back?  
  
She picked up the glasses, an object that just a week ago was the only   
  
window she had to any emotion, and swept them into the rubbish bin   
  
that sat beside the desk, along with several old bandages and scraps   
  
of paper. It was the last time she would see them.  
  
  
  
Ten minutes later, Rei had boarded a train to Misato's apartment.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, she stood in front of the apartment door.  
  
Twenty minutes later, she was in Shinji's arms.  
  
  
  
Shinji sat on Misato's couch, with his arms around Rei, hardly paying   
  
attention to what was on the television. He tried to think how this   
  
had come about, him and Rei, and decided the same decision he always   
  
had: they had just 'found each other'. They weren't 'going out', or   
  
'an item', they were just...helping each other with the fact that they   
  
were Eva pilots. He wondered what Toji and Kensuke would say...and   
  
realised that he didn't care.  
  
  
  
Rei sat on Misato's couch, with her arms around Shinji's waist and her   
  
head resting on his shoulder, hardly paying attention to what was on   
  
the television. She was trying to cope with all these new   
  
thoughts...new emotions. Love, to Shinji...satisfaction, at the   
  
completion of a successful mission...fear, at what else she may   
  
feel...anticipation, for much the same reason.  
  
  
  
Misato sat in a chair, holding a beer in one hand and watching the new   
  
couple with some interest and faint amusement, hardly paying attention   
  
to what was on the television. Rei and Shinji had 'come out', as it   
  
were, two days ago, and still she was amazed at how much they had   
  
changed. Shinji had been quiet, and Rei had been downright reclusive,   
  
and in Misato's mind, neither of them would have had any contact at   
  
all with the opposite sex if they could avoid it. Well, maybe Rei...if   
  
she was ordered to. But now...it was as if Shinji had found a way to   
  
'unlock' Rei from her apathy, and they had then both found something   
  
to cling to at the torrent of Nerv and the Angels washed them   
  
downstream.  
  
  
  
-Derek Zischke  
  
ageless_strange@optusnet.com.au  
  
  
  
"Do you suffer from long-term memory loss? I can't remember..."  
  
-Chumbawhamba  



	3. Intermission I

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis: Evangelion is not my property. It belong to   
  
GAINAX and all affiliates. I am not asking for any money for this   
  
written work. It is permissible to copy, quote, distribute, or in any   
  
other way reproduce the following texts only if they contain this   
  
disclaimer and credit to the author, or I will strike you down with   
  
great vengeance and furious anger.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
*Intermission I*  
  
  
Shinji stared out of the helicopter window down at the wide blue   
  
ocean. There was something very calming about not seeing any signs of   
  
man below him - and the fact that Toji and Kensuke weren't yelling   
  
"Shinji loves Rei!" at every viable opportunity, on account of them   
  
practically drooling over Misato and the helicopter, respectively.  
  
They had, obviously, been stunned at first, and there were several   
  
times Shinji would have laughed out loud, if he wasn't so embarrassed   
  
- like on their first day back at school, after the operation, when   
  
Kensuke almost fell out of his chair after reading the 'I love you,   
  
Shinji' printed at the bottom of a message Rei sent him. Or when Rei   
  
had kissed him - wolf whistles and shouts of "Alright, Ikari!" had   
  
flow across the classroom, but Shinji was sure Toji and Kensuke almost   
  
had brain embolisms.  
  
He turned his focus to inside the helicopter, and began to wonder just   
  
why Misato had decided to bring them. Shinji thought they would be in   
  
the way...well, maybe not Toji, who would just follow Misato around,   
  
but certainly Kensuke - anyone could be irritated by a fourteen year   
  
old with a video camera and a love of war machines.  
  
Beginning of 'Asuka Strikes!'  
  
  
  
"Is this correct? This reading?"  
  
"I believe so, Commander."  
  
"Are you sure these readings came from Rei?"  
  
"Quite sure. Is there something wrong with them?"  
  
"They have an unusually high amount of thought noise in them. Rei   
  
doesn't _have_ thought noise. It's almost as if she's becoming   
  
more...human."  
  
"Don't tell me you haven't noticed, Commander."  
  
"Noticed what, Fuyutsuki?"  
  
"Rei...and your son."  
  
Ikari paused for a moment, in thought, running through the   
  
ramifications and implications of what could happen.  
  
"Can this affect her in any significant way?" Fuyutsuki asked in   
  
Gendo's silence.  
  
"Yes...but this shouldn't be a problem anymore. With Unit Two and the   
  
Second Child, we no longer have a need for a constant backup."  
  
"There is also the matter of where the Second Child is to be located.   
  
Seeing as Rei has taken up residence with Captain Katsuragi..."  
  
"Make it so. But...clear out all of her possessions and take them to   
  
Dogma before the Second Child is located."  
  
"What for, Commander?"  
  
"Personal reasons."  
  
End of 'Asuka Strikes!'  
  
  
  
Ikari sifted through the objects 'recovered' from Rei apartment in   
  
Terminal Dogma. He came across something he never expected to see   
  
again.  
  
His old pair of glasses.  
  
Did Rei..._keep_ these? To remind her of him?  
  
Then why did she get rid of them?  
  
_Because now she has Shinji..._  
  
"So...," Ikari said to himself, "It's begun."  
  
Beginning of 'Magma Diver', which now follows 'Asuka Strikes!' due to   
  
the new Angel order  
  
  
  
  
-Derek Zischke  
  
ageless_strange@optusnet.com.au  
  
  
  
"Do you suffer from long-term memory loss? I can't remember..."  
  
-Chumbawhamba  



	4. Episode 11': Angelic Invader/The Ghost O...

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis: Evangelion is not my property. It belong to   
  
GAINAX and all affiliates. I am not asking for any money for this   
  
written work. It is permissible to copy, quote, distribute, or in any   
  
other way reproduce the following texts only if they contain this   
  
disclaimer and credit to the author, or I will strike you down with   
  
great vengeance and furious anger.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
*Angelic Invader/The Ghost of the Machines*  
  
  
  
Ritsuko paced around the large collaboration of Nerv staff from   
  
various technical divisions, thoughts flowing freely through her mind   
  
about any one of the thousands of things that could go wrong. Central   
  
Dogma was much more crowded than it normally would be, and was for a   
  
good reason and important task; the diagnostic checks on the Magi   
  
system. It would be a much simpler operation if all three of the giant   
  
computers could be shut down - or at least put off-line -   
  
simultaneously, but that would be far too great a risk; if the Magi   
  
were inoperable during an Angel attack...  
  
"What's the status on Melchior?" Ritsuko asked Maya, clearing her   
  
mind.  
  
"Forty-four percent of the diagnostics completed. If all goes to plan,   
  
we can switch the testing to Balthasar in a little over an hour."  
  
"That gives us enough time to work in the test, if the children arrive   
  
here on time, doesn't it?"  
  
"Plenty of time." Maya looked up from her screen for a moment and   
  
turned to face Ritsuko. "This isn't as big a job as you made it out to   
  
be."  
  
"Well, it's not a small job either, so don't make any mistakes."  
  
Maya nodded sharply and restored her focus on the screen.  
  
  
  
The door leading out of the kitchen in Misato's apartment slid open,   
  
to reveal a dishevelled, yawning Misato.  
  
"Good morning, Misato."  
  
"Good morning, Misato."  
  
"G'morning, Shinji, Rei," she yawned as she walked (staggered, Shinji   
  
thought) further into the kitchen. "You're up early."  
  
"We have to be up early. There's a experiment this morning," Rei   
  
pointed out.  
  
"Oh, right...aren't the Magi being shut off for today?"  
  
"Yes, but if they can take time out of our day, they will. They're so   
  
_demanding._" Shinji, after finishing his statement, got up from the   
  
table to take his dishes away, moving past Misato, who was currently   
  
rummaging in the fridge for a beer. Rei soon got up to follow him, and   
  
as Shinji turned around, he saw that Misato had found what she was   
  
looking for.  
  
"Now, what can I have with this? I think there's some food left over   
  
from last night..." Misato proceeded to search through her freezer, a   
  
can in each hand, for anything edible among the collection of instant   
  
frozen dinners.  
  
"I made breakfast. There's still some left over, if you want it...,"   
  
Rei said.  
  
"Oh." Misato pulled herself out of the freezer. "Don't you think I can   
  
make myself a meal?" she asked the pair, giving each of them a stern   
  
(for early in the morning) look.  
  
"Well..." Both pilots suddenly found small spots on the wall very   
  
interesting.  
  
"I'm _kidding!_ What did you make?"  
  
  
  
Misato, after a few drinks and the remains of Rei's breakfast, got   
  
prepared and left for work, with Shinji and Rei sitting the back seat   
  
of her car, cuddling. From the glances Misato took in the mirror, she   
  
thought they were a really cute couple. However, she later thought as   
  
their group descended into the Geofront on a car-train, there were   
  
some people that didn't share the same opinion...  
  
  
  
"Guten Morgan, Misato!"  
  
"Hello, Asuka," Misato said as she noticed the young girl standing   
  
near one of the escalators.  
  
"Hi, Asuka," said Shinji, arms around Rei, following behind Misato.  
  
Asuka instantly lost her morning zest as she saw her fellow pilots   
  
together.  
  
"I'll leave you three to get to the changing room on your own. See you   
  
all in ten minutes!" Misato quickly hurried off: she wasn't late,   
  
exactly, but from what Shinji could gather, after she stopped and talk   
  
to everyone she knew, she would be. At least she wasn't like this in   
  
emergencies...  
  
"Stop standing around, idiot! We have a test to get to!" Asuka   
  
proceeded to half-storm off in the direction of the changing room.   
  
Shinji and Rei, after exchanging a glance, sighed and followed her. It   
  
was going to be a long day, thought Shinji.  
  
  
  
Ritsuko stared at her reflection in the mirror, thinking over the   
  
testing and processing of Melchior, and how swiftly the time has   
  
passed when she wasn't being worried. She knew that there wasn't   
  
really anything that could go wrong, on the wide scale of things that   
  
could go wrong at Nerv, but still, there were no countermeasures she   
  
knew of that she could take to alleviate her stress.  
  
She shook her head slowly. Ritsuko hated knowing that she was possibly   
  
the only one who saw the Magi as more than the computers that ran   
  
almost all of Tokyo-3, but it also gave her a sense of pride, of   
  
self...  
  
"Too many conflicting emotions...I always get like this during   
  
mother's checkups," Ritsuko said to herself, as she left the bathroom   
  
to head off to the simulation room.  
  
  
  
"Hello, Ritsuko!" Misato exclaimed, appearing in Central Dogma with a   
  
cup of coffee she had...borrowed from someone she passed on the way   
  
there.  
  
"You're late again," Ritsuko said with her custom dispassion, not   
  
looking up from the screen she was observing over Maya's shoulder.   
  
Misato only grinned meekly; both of them knew it was a situation that   
  
wasn't changing. Misato changed the subject, deciding to skim past   
  
pleasantries until a later date.  
  
"How are the Magi tests going?"  
  
"They're almost finished for Melchior. Things ran on time, for once.   
  
Where are the children?"  
  
"They're getting changed. They'll be here any moment."  
  
  
  
Shinji felt the air suck itself out of his plugsuit as he compressed   
  
the trigger on his left wrist. It was a sensation he could never get   
  
used to, much like most of the tasks he had to perform at Nerv; being   
  
surrounded by LCL, feeling things he knew didn't come from his own   
  
mind, synchronising with the Eva...  
  
He slowly became aware of Rei's shadow showing up against the   
  
partition; standing close to the thin wall, one hand resting slightly   
  
on it, near her face. Shinji could imagine her over the other side,   
  
her pert nose almost touching the material of the partition, both of   
  
them being so close yet so far...  
  
Shinji stood and in doing so, saw Rei's shadow move to track his own   
  
movement; she was watching him, probably much to the disgust of Asuka,   
  
if she had noticed. He slowly moved over to the partition, and raised   
  
his own hand to touch the shadow. Due to the thickness (or lack   
  
thereof) of the false wall, he could feel Rei's fingertips respond to   
  
his touch. There was something deeply intense about this; not being   
  
able to see or feel fully what each other was doing, yet knowing on   
  
some level they were strongly connected...  
  
"_Hey!_ Would you two knock it off? We're _supposed_ to be getting   
  
ready here!"  
  
Asuka began muttering about how much the pair of them were idiots to   
  
herself as the intensity between Rei and Shinji was shattered.  
  
  
  
Shinji looked to either side of him; Rei on his right, Asuka on his   
  
left, half-obscured by a shoulder-level partition. He depressed his   
  
thumb on a button marked as the intercom switch, and spoke.  
  
"We're here."  
  
"And not pleased at all about being naked and standing next to   
  
this..._pervert!_" Asuka, as usual, voicing her objections in the   
  
bluntest manner, all while managing to call him a pervert. That had   
  
come about after Asuka had found out about that incident when Shinji   
  
had to deliver Rei's new ID card...and Rei had somehow been able to   
  
avoid the full wrath of Asuka, leaving him to try and explain, which   
  
he did rather poorly. Shinji decided he would let it go, this time, as   
  
he happened to agree with her. The sooner he could get into the entry   
  
plug, the better, as he wasn't entirely comfortable being without his   
  
plugsuit, either.  
  
"Don't call Shinji a pervert!" Rei.  
  
"What would _you_ like me to call him, then?"  
  
Shinji was sure that Asuka had been about to make a suggestion, until   
  
Ritsuko cut her off.  
  
"Stop bickering. We've got a test to run, and we're on a tight time   
  
schedule."  
  
"Sorry, Doctor Akagi."  
  
"Yeah, sorry."  
  
  
  
As Rei felt the air around her become replaced by liquid, she   
  
instantly sensed that something was wrong in the entry plug. It could   
  
have been due to the fact that they weren't using the Evas for this   
  
test, but rather large mock bodies suspended in one of Nerv's large   
  
Eva testing rooms. She wasn't completely sure on where these   
  
new...objects had come from, and didn't want to be; what she did know   
  
about the secrets Nerv held made all the more certain that she didn't   
  
want to know the rest of them. But that part of her mind was closed   
  
now...  
  
The wrongness still remained, and Rei was sure that she would be   
  
reassured if she could just place where it-  
  
"Rei, can you hear me?" The intercom.  
  
"Yes, I can hear you."  
  
"I want you to try and move the left arm."  
  
Rei's hand went to the metal grip, and the alien sensation increased.   
  
Regardless, she tried to raise the grip to correspond with the command   
  
Ritsuko gave her.  
  
The grip stuck solid, and the LCL felt like it was condensing around   
  
her. A sharp, stabbing pain came over her arm, and she knew from long   
  
experience that this test was going to be aborted.  
  
Something was definitely wrong.  
  
  
  
"Her input isn't registering. There's something wrong with the   
  
calibration, maybe," Ritsuko thought out loud.  
  
"No, I don't think it's that," Maya replied. As if on cue, a siren   
  
went off. A message showed simultaneously across every display screen   
  
in Nerv: Alert!  
  
"An Angel? Where the hell did that come from?" Ritsuko, shocked by the   
  
fear in her own voice, suddenly saw all the situations she had been   
  
thinking of this morning coming true.  
  
"It's disrupting readings across the entire system! We can't get a   
  
trace on it!"  
  
"Find it! We can't let this happen! Not now!"  
  
"There's too much interference!"  
  
Rei's scream over the intercom and a loud crash, muffled by the liquid   
  
in the holding bay, gave away the Angel's position.  
  
"Eject the pilots! We can't allow them to be contaminated!' yelled the   
  
Commander from above them.  
  
As Misato released her breath seeing the three entry plugs being   
  
jettisoned from the thrashing body in the tank, she was, for one of   
  
the few times in her career in fighting the Angels, completely blank   
  
about how to beat it.  
  
"Use the lasers! We can't let it get out of the tank!"  
  
Several wall-mounted lasers swivelled to target the simulation body,   
  
warmed up, and fired. The red beams hit the body, and bounced off what   
  
looked like small, glowing shields."  
  
"That's an A.T. Field! Cease fire!"  
  
"Something's trying to access the test data!"  
  
"Oh my God! The Angel's hacking into our system!"  
  
"Initiate total isolation! We can't let it infiltrate!"  
  
Makoto pulled a manual lever beside his control panel, and all   
  
displays, lights and anything else electrical in the testing room shut   
  
off. In the silence that followed, everyone watch the large test body,   
  
which now looked like it was covered in some alien virus, giving off a   
  
pale yellow glow.  
  
As everyone in the darkened room stared at the giant tank, Misato   
  
noticed a rapidly flashing light on a control panel near Makoto. The   
  
intercom hail light.  
  
That would be...  
  
"Hey! Somebody go and do something about the pilots!"  
  
A group of orange-suited technicians jumped to their feet and hurried   
  
out the door. Silence once again followed their departure.  
  
"Why isn't it moving?" Ritsuko asked, to no one in particular.  
  
  
  
"This Angel is like no other we've encountered before. Unlike all of   
  
the previous ones we've intercepted, this Angel contains no biological   
  
elements at all. This means that..."  
  
"No biological elements? Does that mean it's not alive?" asked Misato,   
  
interrupting Maya as she so often did. Maya, unperturbed, continued   
  
here short report to Misato and Ritsuko in the small conference room.  
  
"This means that it can be likened to a computer virus, and that it is   
  
currently using the simulation body as its host. We've taken into   
  
account the need to protect the Magi and..."  
  
"What about the Evas?"  
  
"They're on a separate system," Ritsuko replied, speaking for the   
  
first time in the conversation. "This will possibly be the only Angel   
  
where the Evas aren't an issue."  
  
"But with the high degree of protection on the Magi, they have been   
  
put on temporary standby, so they cannot be infected," Maya stated,   
  
emphasising the beginning of her sentence to try and keep Misato and   
  
Ritsuko's minds on the task at hand. "The trade-off for the loss of   
  
the Magi is that all of the other systems in Nerv are currently open   
  
to the Angel."  
  
"So we have no protection?"  
  
"That's right."  
  
"Well...what do we do?"  
  
  
  
"Just _watch_ it? _That's_ your idea? Just _watch_ it?"  
  
"Yes. It's a perfectly good idea; the Angel seems to be in a   
  
stationary position, and we need to observe it if we are going to   
  
eliminate it."  
  
"It has access to the workings of this entire facility, and you want   
  
to let guard down and watch it?"  
  
"Would you be reasonable about this?"  
  
"I don't believe Commander Ikari would have given you power over this   
  
mission if he knew all you were going to do was watch it!"  
  
"Believe what you want, Misato. I'm in charge of destroying this   
  
Angel, and I believe this is the most effective way of doing it."  
  
Misato glared at Ritsuko for a moment, and then walked off.  
  
  
  
"Rei?"  
  
Shinji stepped slowly into the room unaware of what reaction he would   
  
get from the balled-up Rei in the corner of the changing room.  
  
"I...I lost control. I...felt it in my mind." She spoke slowly,   
  
seeming to almost go back to her previous emotionless state. He hated   
  
hearing her speak like that...without any emotion but fear.  
  
"Rei...it's okay...you didn't do anything." Shinji moved over to Rei   
  
and sat down beside her.  
  
"I know...it's just..."  
  
"Rei...I don't know what to say."  
  
She turned her head towards him, and Shinji could see the impact this   
  
event had made on her.  
  
"Then don't say anything. Just...hold me, okay?"  
  
Shinji, obligingly, put his arms around her.  
  
"I hate it...when it's in my head," Rei said in a voice barely above a   
  
whisper, and began to cry quietly.  
  
The two pilots stayed in the same position for what seemed like hours.  
  
  
  
A telephone in the Commander's desk began to ring. The line from the   
  
Committee.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Ikari!" came Keel's voice from the phone. "What happened down there?"  
  
"Malfunction in the simulation. One of the bodies gave off an entire   
  
range of odd readings."  
  
"Is there any record of this?"  
  
"All the data was lost due to a system shutdown."  
  
"You had better not be lying to us, Ikari..."  
  
"There is no Angel," the Commander said bluntly, and hung up.  
  
  
  
Makoto walked into the lunchroom and turned on the coffee maker,   
  
although not entirely of his own volition. He had been walking down a   
  
hallway, and he had seen Misato looking not quite in the best of   
  
moods, and so he asked her what was wrong. She promptly responded by   
  
yelling out a stream of incoherence accusations, most of them aimed at   
  
Ritsuko, and the only thing he could make out clearly was at the end   
  
of her spiel, about getting her something to drink. And, seeing as   
  
Nerv didn't allow alcoholic beverages (mostly for Misato's sake,   
  
Makoto thought sometimes), he thought the next best thing was some   
  
coffee.  
  
  
  
"The Angel is showing some signs of activity, Doctor," Maya reported,   
  
conveniently as Ritsuko passed by her.  
  
"What's it doing?"  
  
"It seems to be accessing the control for the video surveillance...and   
  
the drink dispenser in the lunchroom."  
  
Ritsuko's brow furrowed. "You're joking."  
  
"No, really. Take a look for yourself."  
  
After a brief moment of scanning what Maya had on her screen, Ritsuko   
  
was convinced, but not certain about what anything would want with   
  
control over a soda can dispenser.  
  
  
  
Makoto, in an effort to alleviate boredom from waiting for the so-  
  
called instant coffee, sat one of the tables in the lunchroom and   
  
humming a song he had heard on the radio in the morning. In his   
  
rendition, he failed to notice that one of the drink dispensers was   
  
ejecting cans for no reason, until one struck him rather forcefully in   
  
the leg. He then looked up and saw the machine in the corner fling out   
  
a can, which hit the wall behind him, making a small dent in it.  
  
Had Makoto not been so surprised by the extreme oddity of this event,   
  
he perhaps would have reacted with a little more caution. He got up   
  
from his chair, and walked closer to the drink machine.  
  
The last thing he could remember coherently on that day was a bright   
  
orange aluminium can flying out of the machine's slot in his general   
  
direction.  
  
  
  
"Makoto? Are you awake?"  
  
"Mmm...yeah, I think. What happened?"  
  
"You got hit in the head with a can of soft drink. You've fetched   
  
yourself quite a nasty bruise." A short giggle, and Makoto felt a hand   
  
pass lightly over his forehead.  
  
"How...how did that happen?"  
  
"It doesn't matter. Just rest."  
  
He stopped trying to place the voice that spoke to him, and let   
  
himself be consumed by sleep. Misato looked at him for a moment, and   
  
left the room.  
  
  
  
"The Angel seems to be doing something again."  
  
"Anything like the last time?"  
  
"No...it seems to be disengaging itself from its host...and taking   
  
hold in the security camera system."  
  
"I don't like this." Ritsuko paused to look up at one of the thousands   
  
of scanning cameras in Nerv. "It's watching us."  
  
After a brief moment of thought, Ritsuko spoke to Maya again.  
  
"Send down some technicians to the main power supply."  
  
"What for, Doctor?"  
  
"I have an idea."  
  
"Whoah! Something's searching through all our files!" Shigeru, from   
  
his terminal, almost fell out of his seat.  
  
"What? Is it the Angel?"  
  
"It has to be...no human can move this fast! What do we do?"  
  
After a second, Ritsuko regained her composure. "Nothing. It can't do   
  
anything. We need to know what it's looking for." She walked over to   
  
Shigeru's console.  
  
"It's going for all the document encryption codes...every one of   
  
them."  
  
"Those files have the highest security...but what could it use them   
  
for?"  
  
Shigeru's screen went blank.  
  
"What the hell?" Shigeru asked to the blackened screen.  
  
Random numbers and symbols appeared on the screen rapidly. Slowly, the   
  
symbols became only letters, and then began to break themselves up   
  
from one continuous string.  
  
_Is it trying to communicate?,_ Ritsuko thought, as three words   
  
appeared on the screen, separate from the rest of the letters,   
  
confirming her thought and fear.  
  
Where is Adam?  
  
"What...what is this?" Shigeru craned his head to look at Ritsuko, who   
  
was finding it very hard to accept what she saw before her. More words   
  
appeared on the screen.  
  
Where is Adam? Where is Adam? Where is Adam?  
  
Faster.  
  
WhereisAdamwhereisAdamwhereisAdamAdamadamreturntoadamreturnbecomeOnew  
  
ithAllWhereIsAdam  
  
Faster still, until the letters became a blur.  
  
The screen exploded, causing both Ritsuko and Shigeru to jerk   
  
backwards, and snapped them both back to reality.  
  
"What _was_ that?" Shigeru asked, rubbing his eyes but not managing to   
  
remove the expression on them.  
  
"I have no idea." Ritsuko turned to the panel of technicians behind   
  
her. "Find out what just happened down here! Trace everything!"  
  
A chorus of, "Yes, ma'am!"  
  
  
  
"You may want to have a look at this, Commander."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Doctor Akagi sent it straight from the testing room...she said it was   
  
important."  
  
Fuyutsuki handed the Commander a folder marked with the custom   
  
security notices. Inside, however, was nothing as elaborate. A few   
  
sheets of paper sat inside the folder, all except one being recorded   
  
movements the Angel had made in the last twenty minutes. However,   
  
sitting on top of these was a handwritten note, signed by Ritsuko.   
  
Strictly against protocol, but he was planning on destroying all   
  
evidence that this little incident had ever occurred. The Committee   
  
might not be able to replace him, but they could certainly remove him   
  
from a position of power if they didn't trust him enough. He glanced   
  
over Ritsuko's note.  
  
_'The Angel appears to have found record of Adam, and tried to make   
  
contact with Lt. Aoba and I via our own computer system. Is Terminal   
  
Dogma secure, Commander?'_  
  
Ikari thought to himself. All of the key systems for Instrumentality   
  
were separated from the main system of Nerv, and from each other:   
  
Seele had covered themselves well in case of all events. If Ritsuko   
  
didn't realise that...she must be in a great state of shock.  
  
"Tell Ritsuko that there's no need to worry. Everything is secure."  
  
"Yes, Commander."  
  
As Fuyutsuki left, Ikari glanced over the envelope. It was an express   
  
type, marked as being able to be hand-delivered without being filed   
  
officially first. Good. That meant it could be run effectively through   
  
the shredder before it could be filed officially.  
  
  
  
Asuka, as she walked back to the changing room, decided that she was   
  
not in the best mood she could be in. It had taken forever for the   
  
technicians to get them out of the entry plugs, she hadn't been able   
  
to find Kaji anywhere, the new plugsuit they had given her was over-  
  
starched, or something, and she had hit her head trying to put it on   
  
inside the entry plug, and was sure that there would be a bruise there   
  
in the morning. The whole test was a stupid idea, anyway. What was the   
  
point of getting test results, if they weren't from when they were in   
  
their Evas? She just wanted to change into some clothes with room to   
  
move, and be left alone for the rest of the day. However, Asuka   
  
thought, all hopes of her being left alone went down the drain when   
  
she saw _them_ in the changing room.  
  
"Well, isn't this cosy? How long have you two been here?"  
  
"Asuka? What are you doing here?" Shinji recognised well the look in   
  
Asuka's eyes (which he often mentally referred to as the Devil's   
  
Glint), and know she was not going to handle being aggravated further   
  
very well.  
  
"Why do you think I'm in here? To change, idiot!"  
  
"Then do it on the other side," came Rei's voice, faint and slightly   
  
muffled by her knees, which were pulled up close to her face.  
  
"Oh, I'm _sorry_. Am I intruding on something?" Asuka asked   
  
sarcastically.  
  
"Just go over the other side, and leave us alone."  
  
"What's the matter, Shinji? Are you-"  
  
"Dammit, can't you think about anyone else for a change?"  
  
Shinji and Asuka locked eyes. Asuka could clearly read the message   
  
written in his eyes: leave her alone.  
  
Asuka, intent on leaving with some face, spun around sharply, never   
  
lowering her eyes, and changed silently over the other side of the   
  
partition.  
  
  
  
"Are you in position? Can you see the breakers?"  
  
"I can see them. Why does it have to be so dark here?"  
  
"We went through a lot of extra security to prevent anything like the   
  
blackout that happened before. We don't want anyone being able to shut   
  
us down that easily again."  
  
Ritsuko cupped her hand over the small microphone bud suspended from   
  
her headset and walked over to Maya's console.  
  
"How much of the Angel is left in the simulation body?"  
  
"Two point seven percent, Doctor."  
  
Ritsuko removed her hand. "Shut off the power."  
  
Through the speaker in her ear, Ritsuko could hear a large lever being   
  
pulled. The diminished yellow glow over the body in the tank faded.  
  
"What's the status of the Angel?"  
  
"The two point seven percent left in the simulation body has been   
  
removed from the system." Maya looked up from the screen. "That means   
  
we can beat it, right?"  
  
"We'll see about that." Ritsuko spoke into the headset again. "Turn it   
  
back on."  
  
The changes in the test body reversed itself.  
  
"The removed section of the Angel has returned."  
  
  
  
Ritsuko sat at Shigeru's terminal, as Shigeru was occupying Makoto's   
  
area due to his screen no longer working, trying to figure out a way   
  
of removing the Angel from all of the primary systems. The figurative   
  
bulk of it was residing in the security cameras, which they had lost   
  
control over about an hour ago. It was then spreading itself   
  
throughout the system, possibly trying to acquire information on Adam.   
  
They could just leave it be, as it was unable to access any of the   
  
important facilities of Nerv; the LCL plant, the Dummy System, the   
  
Evangelions...the Magi. But no one in Nerv would be willing to accept   
  
that.  
  
"If we isolated it in the cameras...passcoded off everything else...we   
  
could shut off power again...," Ritsuko thought out loud. As her train   
  
of though gathered steam, she became certain that this way would work.  
  
"Maya, mind my post. I have to go talk to the Commander."  
  
  
  
"And what are you doing, gorgeous?"  
  
Misato was so absorbed in scanning the surveillance camera screens   
  
that she hadn't heard Kaji come into the room. She almost cringed at   
  
the sound of the familiar voice. "_Don't_ call me 'gorgeous'."  
  
"Okay...gorgeous." Before Misato could talk back to him again, he   
  
said, "You look upset."  
  
_Because you're here, maybe?,_ she thought, but didn't bother saying,   
  
as she always seemed to come off worse when she argued with Kaji.  
  
"Is it because you're not allowed to work on this Angel?" he asked in   
  
her silence.  
  
"Funny _you_ should talk about work. What have you been doing here,   
  
Kaji?"  
  
"Odd jobs." He then directed his attention to the wall of television   
  
screens Misato had been intently staring at. "Looking for anything in   
  
particular?"  
  
"If you must know, I was trying to find the children, before you so   
  
rudely interrupted me."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Kaji walked over to the chair that Misato was sitting on, and rested   
  
his hands on the back of it. Fine, let him keep his hands there,   
  
thought Misato, but if he moves them _anywhere_ he's receiving a swift   
  
backhand to the face.  
  
  
  
"You propose the total removal of the video surveillance system?"  
  
"That is correct, Commander. I see it as the only possible way of   
  
defeating this Angel."  
  
"It is a small price to pay: you have full authority to go ahead with   
  
the operation."  
  
"Thankyou, Commander."  
  
  
  
"How do you feel, Rei?"  
  
"Better, I guess."  
  
Shinji gave her a loving kiss on the forehead, and she responded by   
  
holding him closer.  
  
"Thankyou, Shinji."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For being here."  
  
  
  
"Is that them?" asked Kaji, leaning over Misato and pointing to a   
  
screen. Misato looked at the monitor that his finger rested on, which   
  
showed an overhead view of one of the changing rooms. Sitting in a   
  
corner were Shinji and Rei, in each other's arms. Misato and Kaji   
  
looked on as Shinji kissed Rei.  
  
"Ah, young love. You know, we were like that once, Katsuragi."  
  
"Don't get any ideas, Kaji."  
  
From the shifting weight on the chair and the feel of his breath when   
  
he spoke next, Misato could tell that Kaji was leaning close to her.  
  
"What, not in the romantic mood?"  
  
"I said don't get any ideas."  
  
  
  
"Prepare for system encryption."  
  
"Yes, ma'am."  
  
Maya began typing on her keyboard, inputting the necessary motions to   
  
place all of Nerv under total shutoff.  
  
Ritsuko watched the graph of the Angel's inhabiting space slowly   
  
increase, as it's various dispersed parts were barred from entry to   
  
systems all over Nerv. The small percentage bar at the bottom of the   
  
graph reached seventy.  
  
"It can't be this easy," Ritsuko said to herself, watching the graph   
  
climb.  
  
  
  
It wasn't.  
  
  
  
Simultaneously, all of the Commander's desk phones began to ring. As   
  
Ikari picked each of them up, all he heard was electrical exchange   
  
signals. Several lights in Central Dogma began to flicker on and off.   
  
The wall of television screens Misato and Kaji were watching showed up   
  
a broken transmission signal for a second, and then restored   
  
themselves.  
  
  
  
The graph reached eighty.  
  
  
  
All of the drink dispensers in the lunchrooms fired off a volley of   
  
aluminium cans. Fortunately, this time no one was in the rooms to get   
  
injured. One of the coffee makers in the test room was hit with a   
  
surge of electricity, and exploded in a rain of burnt plastic, causing   
  
all of the technicians around it to cover their faces with their arms.  
  
"Keep going!" yelled Ritsuko. "We can't let it stay in the system!"  
  
  
  
The graph reached ninety.  
  
  
  
One of the mounted lasers in the simulation tank activated itself, and   
  
rotated to face the glass panel looking in on the tank. Ritsuko,   
  
alerted by the coffee maker and the only person in the room not   
  
focused on a screen, saw it move and begin to power up.  
  
"Put everything on automatic encryption. We have to get out of here."   
  
Her voice seemed calm, but inside her head, a very uncomfortable   
  
mental image was coming to her; a small rock, the key to holding a   
  
landslide, slipping painfully slowly.  
  
The laser fired, focusing on a small spot on the screen and starting   
  
to turn it red.  
  
"Go, go, go, go, go!" Ritsuko yelled out as the glass began to crack.   
  
The various programmers began to move from their seats and run for the   
  
door. Ritsuko, after a momentary glance over the room, turned and ran   
  
as well. She heard the glass crash behind her.  
  
As Ritsuko ran through the already closing doors, she turned to see   
  
the water filling the room be sealed into the test room by the airlock   
  
doors.  
  
Several glances were exchanges among the escapees.  
  
"It is...gone?"  
  
"We'll just have to find out." Ritsuko turned on her headset and spoke   
  
into it. "Shut off the power."  
  
  
  
The switch was thrown for the surveillance power, and the wall of   
  
screens, the lights, and all other electrical devices were shut off in   
  
the surveillance room.  
  
_Whap!_  
  
"Ouch! What was that for?"  
  
"Like you don't know!"  
  
"My hand slipped."  
  
"Oh, sure!"  
  
  
  
"Begin the scanning."  
  
The Nerv technicians, now relocated to the large display room that   
  
housed the Magi, began to check the system for any traces of the   
  
Angel.  
  
"System check...clean." Maya looked at Ritsuko. "We got it."  
  
A cheer went up from the programmers.  
  
"Reactivate the Magi! Begin assessing damage on the simulation room!"  
  
The technicians dispersed themselves to where they were needed.  
  
"Good work, Maya."  
  
"Thankyou, Doctor."  
  
  
  
-Derek Zischke  
  
ageless_strange@optusnet.com.au  
  
  
  
"Do you suffer from long-term memory loss? I can't remember..."  
  
-Chumbawhamba  



	5. Intermission II

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis: Evangelion is not my property. It belong to   
  
GAINAX and all affiliates. I am not asking for any money for this   
  
written work. It is permissible to copy, quote, distribute, or in any   
  
other way reproduce the following texts only if they contain this   
  
disclaimer and credit to the author, or I will strike you down with   
  
great vengeance and furious anger.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
*Intermission II*  
  
  
"How does it feel, Shinji?"  
  
"...Different."  
  
"Is there anything wrong?"  
  
"No...it's just...different."  
  
Even though a casual observer might see his perception of change as   
  
simply being in a different entry plug, Shinji could tell it was   
  
something more...something deeper. The Evas were more than just   
  
weapons...  
  
"Commencing activation now."  
  
Shinji could now hear something, though not with his ears - in his   
  
head. It sounded like a million voices speaking in a large room -   
  
there was something being said, but it was impossible to tell what.  
  
An image flashed in his mind - him and Rei. Another, same coupling.   
  
Another, same again. The images came to him faster, and now he thought   
  
he could hear sounds that were linked to the images as well. But there   
  
was something different in these images, different to the ones he held   
  
in his own mind. Could these be...  
  
Rei's?  
  
The voices, images and sounds stopped, and in the second before Unit   
  
Zero shut itself off, Shinji thought he heard Rei's voice whisper   
  
softly to him in his head: "Shinji..."  
  
  
  
Rei, in the changing room, tried to make sense of how the exact same   
  
incident could have occurred in both Evas. There was a lot more to   
  
them than met the eye...or the mind...  
  
Rei, as she had in Unit One, heard a voice in her head: Shinji's   
  
voice.  
  
"I love you, Rei."  
  
She looked up, and saw his shadow gazing at her through the partition.  
  
"I love you too, Shinji," she thought, and knew that he had heard her.   
  
Rei quietly smiled to herself. She and him were now possibly the   
  
closest two humans on the planet.  
  
Additional scenes; 'Seele, Throne Of Souls/Weaving A Story I'.  
  
  
  
Rei sank into Misato's couch, tired out from repeated accuracy drills   
  
at Nerv. She closed her eyes and exhaled deeply, her blue hair falling   
  
into her face as she did so. In the quiet of the apartment, a noise   
  
became apparent to her. Sounded like...  
  
_Music,_ Rei thought, _A string instrument._  
  
She got up and walked slowly to where she thought the sound was coming   
  
from, which turned out to be the kitchen. Sitting on one of the   
  
chairs, which had been pulled away from the table, was Shinji, his   
  
hands moving over the string and bow of his cello, which Rei was   
  
surprised at. She had never noticed a case in the apartment before,   
  
and it was quite large.  
  
She stood in the doorway, simply listening to Shinji play. His eyes   
  
were closed, concentrating on his tune, ignoring everything else. As   
  
he slowly began to wind down, Rei involuntarily began to clap her   
  
hands, softly. Shinji's eyes opened, to see who had been watching him,   
  
and then he smiled at Rei when he saw her.  
  
Rei smiled back, wanting for this moment to stay forever.  
  
Replacement scene; 'Lie And Silence/Those Women That Denied Others   
  
Their Lips And Thus, Invited Their Kisses'.  
  
  
  
Rei watched from a distance as Unit One slowly began to sink into the   
  
shadow that had appeared under its feet. She began to move her Eva,   
  
lumbering towards Shinji's Eva as his cries for help surrounded her in   
  
the entry plug, almost foreseeing her effort would be futile.  
  
Her Evangelion dove into the street, grabbing the purple Eva's hand   
  
before it sank into the Twelfth Angel. As her hand gripped tighter,   
  
Misato's voice came through Rei's radio, drowning out Shinji, but she   
  
paid it no attention.  
  
She felt the force that was dragging Shinji down suddenly intensify,   
  
and as the giant purple hand slipped out of her Eva's grasp, Unit   
  
Zero's hand making a metallic crunch when it snapped shut, Rei began   
  
to hear Misato's subdued voice break the silence that hung over all   
  
the Nerv staff.  
  
"Rei...pull back...that's an order."  
  
  
  
Asuka stared at the city, or where the city had been. From her vantage   
  
on the building outside of the Angel's range, she could see clearly   
  
the area that had fallen into the Sea of Dirac. Just like Unit One.  
  
"It's his own fault for being so sure of himself," Asuka said to   
  
herself.  
  
She became aware of a sound coming from behind her. Was that...crying?   
  
_Rei_ crying?  
  
Asuka turned and saw she was right. Rei, leant up against the brick   
  
box that housed the building's elevator, sobbing to herself.  
  
_I should go talk to her,_ Asuka though, unsure of what sort of   
  
response she would get.  
  
"Rei...he didn't know," she said, walking over to Rei. "None of us   
  
could of...it wasn't his fault..."  
  
Rei suddenly stopped crying and jerked her head up to stare at Asuka,   
  
tears still on her cheeks. Her red eyes bore into Asuka's, and for the   
  
first time in her life, Asuka was genuinely scared of another human   
  
being.  
  
"It's your fault!" Rei yelled, the tears still not out of her speech.  
  
"What? Me? What do you-"  
  
"You and your stupid rivalry! You urged him to do it!"  
  
"Well, you didn't exactly try to talk him out of it," Asuka said,   
  
feeling forced to defend her position.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Rei's voice was now cold and   
  
calculating.  
  
"The way you worship the ground Shinji walks on! It's disgusting,   
  
watching you _moon_ over him!"  
  
"At least I'm not a heartless bitch!"  
  
"At least _I'm_ not a mindless doll!"  
  
_Whap!_  
  
The two pilots locked eyes for what seemed like an eternity to both of   
  
them after Rei delivered a slap to Asuka's face. Asuka finally broke   
  
the tension, walking past Rei, without lowering her eyes, and took the   
  
elevator to the ground.  
  
Replacement scenes from the Twelfth Angel's attack; 'Sickness Unto   
  
Death, And.../The Splitting Of The Breast'  
  
  
  
Shinji lay awake in the hospital, staring at the ceiling. He felt that   
  
he must have memorised every little crack and dent in it by now. Not   
  
that he didn't _not_ like being here; it was often very calming to be   
  
away from Nerv, especially after an incident that would hospitalise   
  
him, and just listen to the low clamour of people elsewhere in the   
  
ward.  
  
He could remember being inside the Eva, and it slowly getting colder   
  
and the LCL slowly getting thicker. Then he had begun   
  
hallucinating...he _thought_ he had begun hallucinating, and then he   
  
woke up in the hospital bed. He figured that he had simply passed out   
  
due to the fading life support, and had a weird dream brought on by   
  
being sealed in his Eva for so long. He had dreamt of his mother...and   
  
his Eva going wild. But was that only a dream?  
  
Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice Rei in the doorway, and only   
  
realised she was in the room when she knelt down next to his bed.  
  
"Rei..."  
  
"Don't you ever go doing anything that stupid again." Her voice was   
  
soft, and Shinji could hear the remnants of fear when she spoke.  
  
"I won't, Rei," he said, and reached out to brush his hand over her   
  
cheek. "I've got too much to lose, now."  
  
Additional scene after the Twelfth Angel's defeat; 'Sickness Unto   
  
Death, And.../The Splitting Of The Breast'  
  
  
  
-Derek Zischke  
  
ageless_strange@optusnet.com.au  
  
  
  
"Do you suffer from long-term memory loss? I can't remember..."  
  
-Chumbawhamba  



	6. Episode 19': Replacements/The Fifth Chil...

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis: Evangelion is not my property. It belong to   
  
GAINAX and all affiliates. I am not asking for any money for this   
  
written work. It is permissible to copy, quote, distribute, or in any   
  
other way reproduce the following texts only if they contain this   
  
disclaimer and credit to the author, or I will strike you down with   
  
great vengeance and furious anger.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
*Replacements/The Fifth Child*  
  
  
  
"The Eva is not responding to our commands. It seems to be being   
  
blocked...from inside the entry plug."  
  
Makoto spoke into an intercom microphone. "Shinji? Can you hear me?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
There was an eerie coldness to his voice, a dispassion that Makoto had   
  
never heard him speak with before, and it was so different from his   
  
normal tone and so similar to the Commander's, it almost scared him.  
  
"Shinji, you have to release the Eva."  
  
"No." The coldness remained.  
  
"Shinji...your father has ordered you..."  
  
"My father?" The coldness in his voice began to break, and now Makoto   
  
saw what it hid: pure rage.  
  
"That bastard! He made me try and kill Toji! He did it using my own   
  
hands!"  
  
A beat.  
  
"Can you hear me, father? Are you there?"  
  
"Increase the pressure in Unit One's entry plug," Ikari said, somehow   
  
seeming to ignore his yelling son.  
  
"But...," Maya protested weakly. "That could bring serious damage to-"  
  
"Do it! I have no time to waste on an insolent child."  
  
"Yes, sir," Maya said reluctantly, and pressed a button.  
  
In the entry plug, Shinji felt his lungs and his brain fight a battle   
  
of which organ could burst out of his body first, as his skin seemed   
  
to want to implode on itself. He fought, both with his mind and his   
  
body, for control of the Eva, repeating over and over through gritted   
  
teeth, "I mustn't run away...I mustn't run away...I mustn't run   
  
away...I mustn't run away..."  
  
A heaving feeling in his stomach disrupted his mantra, and he knew he   
  
was going to lose control. He vomited into the LCL seconds before he   
  
lost consciousness.  
  
  
  
"Shinji?"  
  
Shinji turned his head to the hospital room door, wincing as he felt   
  
pain flit across his neck from when Toji's Eva had choked him. He saw   
  
Rei standing in the doorway, hesitant.  
  
"Come in...I'm awake."  
  
Rei slowly walked over to Shinji's bed and knelt beside it.  
  
"How do you feel? I heard someone say you were injured pretty   
  
badly..."  
  
"I don't know. I feel pretty sore all over."  
  
There was a long pause in the conversation, and when Shinji couldn't   
  
catch Rei's glance, he knew that there was something she was avoiding   
  
saying.  
  
"What else do you have to tell me?" he asked, fearing it would be bad   
  
news.  
  
"Shinji...," Rei started, not looking up from the floor. "I don't want   
  
to be the one that tells you this...the Commander wants to see   
  
you...us."  
  
"Oh." He turned his gaze toward the ceiling again. "I'm going to tell   
  
him I'm leaving. I mean it this time. He's gone too far."  
  
Rei looked at Shinji, and placed her hand on his.  
  
"Shinji..."  
  
The hospital door opened, and two members of Nerv security entered the   
  
room.  
  
"Shinji Ikari? You have been summoned to explain your actions to the   
  
Commander."  
  
  
  
"I quit. I don't want to be a pilot anymore."  
  
Shinji's words hung in the air of the Commander's room. For the first   
  
time since he was brought to Nerv, Shinji didn't feel any awkward   
  
emotion toward his father.  
  
"You disappoint me, Shinji. You're running away again."  
  
"This time, it's for the right reasons." He turned and began to walk   
  
away.  
  
"You're aware that you lose all of your privileges at Nerv, aren't   
  
you?" Gendo's voice was threatening, even in a question that was meant   
  
for the tone of concern.  
  
"Yes, I am. Goodbye, father."  
  
  
  
"Into the tank, Rei."  
  
"No."  
  
"Rei..."  
  
"Is that what I am for? The fuel for an instrument of destruction?"  
  
"You know that's not how the plug works."  
  
"But it is. Why do you need pilots now, anyway? I'm sure the DummyPlug   
  
would respond better to your commands than some of the current   
  
pilots."  
  
Ikari suddenly realised how close he was to witnessing Nerv falling   
  
apart, because of a simple error in judgement.  
  
"I'm leaving, Commander."  
  
Damn.  
  
  
  
"Things are not looking good, Commander. Seele never expected the   
  
pilots undergoing a mutiny."  
  
"What concerns Seele are the Angels, not the pilots."  
  
"But if we have no pilots, we cannot fight the Angels."  
  
"The loss of three pilots...we will just have to wait for the fifth   
  
child."  
  
"We cannot rely on the DummyPlug, Ikari..."  
  
"We cannot rely on Unit Two, either. Perhaps this time, Marduk must be   
  
forced to deliver."  
  
  
  
"What? You quit? _Both_ of you?" Asuka, despite the hospital   
  
sedatives, seemed to be her regular, loud self to Shinji.  
  
"That's right, Asuka."  
  
"So I'm the only one left...," she said to herself. "Well, I guess   
  
this must prove my superiority to _you,_ Third Child."  
  
"I thought you'd say something like that." Shinji turned to leave, but   
  
stopped when he reached the door.  
  
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, Hikari might come here to see you soon.   
  
Right now, she's in with Toji..."  
  
"That figures."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"What? _Nothing!_ It doesn't _mean_ anything."  
  
"I'll let you catch up on your rest. Goodbye, Asuka."  
  
"Goodbye, Shinji."  
  
After Shinji had left, Asuka felt the fear creep in.  
  
_I'm the only one left. It's all up to me, now._  
  
  
  
"Ikari, your request to move up the selection for the fifth child is   
  
unjustified. We see no need for another pilot at Nerv without an Eva   
  
to be piloted."  
  
"My request is justified. Units One and Zero are both undesignated."  
  
"What?"  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"How did you lose another two pilots, Ikari?"  
  
"They left. Of their own free will."  
  
"But they can still pilot."  
  
"They would refuse. A motionless Evangelion is of no use to me, or to   
  
you."  
  
"But the DummyPlug..."  
  
"...Is still too unstable. Rei is gone: the project cannot advance.   
  
Without another pilot, your scenario of the Dead Sea Scrolls will fall   
  
apart."  
  
"Given one more reckless action like this, Ikari, and your position as   
  
Commander will be revoked!"  
  
"I will expect the file on the fifth child tomorrow."  
  
The various screens of Seele shut off, and darkness filled the room.  
  
  
  
"Misato's working late again, isn't she?"  
  
"Mm-hmm."  
  
"So it's just us for a while?"  
  
"Mm-hmm."  
  
Shinji looked up at Rei, to see her cooking something in Misato's   
  
kitchen.  
  
"Rei, do you want any help with that?"  
  
"No, I'm fine." She checked around the kitchen to see that everything   
  
was going as it should. "I'm finished anyway."  
  
"Did we do the right thing? Leaving?" Shinji asked as Rei sat down   
  
beside him.  
  
"The Commander has no regard for human life. He believes the end   
  
justifies the means. Tell yourself that whenever you doubt your   
  
decision. That's what I do."  
  
"Asuka's still there...but I don't think either of us could persuade   
  
her to leave."  
  
"Neither do I. She holds too much importance to her position as an Eva   
  
pilot."  
  
"Yeah...say, Rei, what are you doing tonight?" Shinji asked, changing   
  
the subject to get his..._their_ minds off the day behind them.  
  
Rei smiled and moved closer to Shinji. "I think I may already have   
  
plans."  
  
"Then we'd better make out now," he said, placing his arms around Rei.  
  
"That sounds like a good idea to me..."  
  
_RIIINNNGGG!!!_  
  
Rei's eyes widened. "Dinner!" She quickly jumped us off the couch and   
  
hurried into the kitchen.  
  
"Can't it wait?" Shinji called after her.  
  
"Only if you like burnt food!" Rei called back.  
  
  
  
Over an unburnt meal, Shinji asked Rei, "So...can your plans be   
  
cancelled?"  
  
"For you...any time."  
  
  
  
"What the hell is wrong with them, turning down the opportunity to   
  
pilot an Eva? Do they _like_ evacuation drills and hiding in the   
  
ground? Why would _anyone_ want to be _demoted?_" Asuka quietly ranted   
  
to herself as she walked to her apartment. "I don't understand those   
  
two...they spend too much time with each other to _comprehend_ how   
  
important being an Eva pilot is!"  
  
Asuka's train of thought shifted slightly as she reached her door.  
  
"I wonder if they've got a replacement yet? ...I hope he'll be cuter   
  
than Shinji...I don't know _what_ Rei sees in him."  
  
  
  
"Shinji? Rei?" Misato called softly into the darkened apartment. No   
  
one answered her. "Pen Pen?" She sighed. "Is anyone awake?"  
  
As she walked past Shinji's room, she saw where they both were: Shinji   
  
asleep on the floor, on the spare mattress that Rei slept on, next to   
  
Rei, their arms around each other, both of them looking very peaceful.  
  
Misato smiled to herself. It was good to see that Shinji had someone   
  
to support him, to comfort him...and that she had been right about   
  
them. No one could stare that long at a photograph and not be   
  
interested.  
  
  
  
Shinji, in the dimness of the morning, was faintly aware of three   
  
things: his proximity to the floor, his proximity to Rei, and a dull   
  
ringing. Ringing?  
  
_The alarm!_  
  
Shocked into alertness by the realisation that he was late for school,   
  
Shinji began to shake Rei awake.  
  
"Rei...Rei, we're late."  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"We're late for school!"  
  
  
  
"Where are they?" Asuka wondered to herself. She had been waiting for   
  
Shinji and Rei to arrive for a good ten minutes, and usually she had   
  
to be waited for by them. She was under the impression that she had   
  
gotten up too early.  
  
She heard a noise coming from the top of the hill. Faintly, but   
  
clearly being yelled.  
  
"Asuka! Asuka!"  
  
Shinji, yelling, and Rei, both running.  
  
"What happened to you two this morning?" she tried to ask as they got   
  
close. However, they both just ran past her. Shinji looked back and   
  
yelled, "No time to talk! We're late!"  
  
"Late? Hey, wait for me!" Asuka started running after them.  
  
  
  
"Answer your names accordingly. Ayanami, Rei? ...Ayanami, Rei?"  
  
"Here!" Rei, Asuka and Shinji appeared in the doorway, flushed and out   
  
of breath.  
  
"Ayanami, Sohryu, Ikari, you're late!"  
  
"We know," the trio said simultaneously to Hikari, the class rep.  
  
"Take your seats. And don't let it happen again!"  
  
  
  
Near the end of a lesson on history that Shinji knew to be covered up   
  
by Nerv, a message came for one of the members of his class to report   
  
to the principal's office.  
  
  
  
"Are you Kensuke Aida?" the tall man with the dark glasses asked.  
  
"Yes..." _Who is this?_ thought Kensuke. _He's definitely_ not _the   
  
principal._  
  
"You have been chosen by the Marduk Organization to be the Fifth Child   
  
in accordance with the Human Instrumentality Project, and the   
  
designated pilot of Evangelion Unit One. If you could familiarise   
  
yourself with this document..." He proceeded to pull a small book out   
  
of his suit pocket that Kensuke recognised as a Nerv handbook; he had   
  
seen Rei and Shinji reading them sometimes.  
  
"I'm...I'm an Eva pilot?" he asked, taking the handbook and hardly   
  
believing that he had woken up this morning.  
  
"That's correct, Pilot Aida. Your briefing and basic training will   
  
begin after your classes have ended for the day. Look for the black   
  
car."  
  
"I'm an Eva pilot..." Kensuke repeated to himself, and suddenly, it   
  
clicked in his mind.  
  
"I'm an Eva pilot!"  
  
After the Second Sector agent watched the new pilot run out of the   
  
room, yelling for joy, he took out a mobile phone from his other   
  
pocket.  
  
"He's been told, sir -- he was slightly more...enthused than the last   
  
pilot -- yes sir, we'll be there to collect him for training."  
  
  
  
"I'm a pilot! I'm an Eva pilot!"  
  
"What?" Shinji was glad that he, Rei and Kensuke were the only ones in   
  
the room. Everyone else had gone elsewhere for lunch.  
  
"Yeah! I'm one of you now!"  
  
"You're joking," Shinji said rather flatly. This was too much to take   
  
in, in a short time.  
  
"I'm not! I got a handbook!" Kensuke flashed a Nerv handbook in font   
  
of Shinji's face.  
  
"Huh."  
  
Kensuke finally realised how disinterested Shinji was. "What do you   
  
mean, 'huh'?"  
  
"I mean, Kensuke, being a pilot isn't all it cracked up to be."  
  
"Why else would we have left?" asked Rei plainly, joining the   
  
conversation.  
  
"But...being an Eva pilot has always been my dream...I didn't know you   
  
_quit_..."  
  
Shinji, seeing how much he could have ruined Kensuke's ability to   
  
pilot just by telling him that he and Rei left, had to tell him   
  
something positive. He couldn't think of a single thing. Rei, however,   
  
could.  
  
"Kensuke, you'll be defending the human race from the Angels. That's   
  
an important job."  
  
"So why did you and Shinji leave?"  
  
"We...just couldn't take the strain anymore."  
  
"Well...I guess it can't be too bad on my first day, right?"  
  
  
  
"Has Unit One's personal data been recorded?"  
  
"Fully recorded, sir."  
  
"Prepare for clearing of Unit One's memory files." To himself, Gendo   
  
thought, _I'm sorry, Yui._  
  
  
  
"This is just going to be a standard activation test. The entry plug   
  
will begin to fill up with a liquid called LCL. It's designed to give   
  
life support and boost synchronisation with the Eva. You have to   
  
relax; you can't actually drown in LCL. Have you got that, Kensuke?"  
  
"Yeah, I think," Kensuke replied, and thought to himself: _Why would   
  
Shinji turn down a job like this?_  
  
The LCL began to gush into the plug, and although Misato had told him   
  
not to fight it getting into his lungs, he couldn't deny his natural   
  
response. After he felt he couldn't hold his breath any longer,   
  
certain that despite what he had just heard, he _would_ drown in the   
  
LCL, he released his breath...and found he could breath while   
  
submerged in the liquid.  
  
"There, that wasn't so bad, was it?"  
  
"No ma'am."  
  
"You can call me Misato, Kensuke."  
  
"Alright...Misato."  
  
  
  
"He's synchronising quite well for his first time in an Eva. It's not   
  
as impressive as Shinji, but still..."  
  
"They all should sync well, Ritsuko. All of the children in his class   
  
are Fourth Level candidates."  
  
Ritsuko glanced across at Misato. "You've been talking to Kaji again,   
  
haven't you?"  
  
"No..."  
  
"If you play with fire, Major Katsuragi, you will get burned."  
  
"Is that a threat?"  
  
"It's a warning."  
  
Several moments passed in silence.  
  
"It is quite impressive," Ritsuko said after the silence.  
  
"He did seem pretty eager to pilot an Eva. Maybe that why he was   
  
selected ahead of any others; he wants to be a pilot."  
  
"Maybe."  
  
  
  
"What's this question here about?" Shinji asked Rei, handing her his   
  
notebook.  
  
Rei looked at the page for a moment, took Shinji's pen, and made some   
  
quick strokes on the page, then handed them both back to Shinji. "This   
  
should help."  
  
Shinji, after a quick glance over what she had wrote, realised it did.   
  
"How do you do that, Rei? This kind of thing never sticks with me."  
  
"Natural aptitude, I guess. Like you and your Eva."  
  
"Not anymore. It's Kensuke's Eva now." Shinji thought for a moment   
  
about what he had just said. "Rei..." he asked, disliking distracting   
  
her from the book she was reading.  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"What do we do when the next Angel attacks?"  
  
At his words, a klaxon siren sounded, followed by a recorded voice.  
  
_"A state of emergency has been declared. Please evacuate to your   
  
designated shelters. A state of emergency..."_  
  
Shinji and Rei looked at each other.  
  
"I guess we find out!"  
  
  
  
"Dammit, not now!" Misato yelled at the red 'Alert' screens. "Find   
  
Asuka! Get her to the cage!"  
  
  
  
"Wh-what's going on?" Kensuke asked from inside the plug, a jolt of   
  
fear sent into him from the siren and the commotion of people over the   
  
intercom.  
  
"It's an Angel attack," he heard Misato say. "We need to get you out   
  
of the Eva, Kensuke."  
  
"What for?"  
  
Misato was taken aback by the question. "You...you haven't even been   
  
through basic weapon's training yet..."  
  
"But Shinji fought, his first time in an Eva!"  
  
"Kensuke, it's not safe to-"  
  
"Let him go out," Ikari said from above her. "We need to be able to   
  
intercept the Angels before they reach the Geofront."  
  
"But he hasn't had any training..."  
  
"Do it! We need the time!"  
  
"Yes, sir." Then, louder: "Launch the Eva!"  
  
  
  
Up on the surface, Kensuke saw the Angel immediately. It looked like a   
  
floating torso. With no regard for tactics (but in actuality, an   
  
intelligent move, distracting the Angel from breaking through to the   
  
Geofront), Kensuke raised his rifle-  
  
"Eat _this!_"  
  
-And fired.  
  
Small explosions rippled across the Angel from the bullets of the   
  
Positron Rifle. The Angel was slowly turning toward Kensuke's Eva, but   
  
Kensuke was unaware of that fact. He was only aware of the headrush of   
  
being inside an Eva, inside combat.  
  
The rifle stopped firing.  
  
The Angel began its offence.  
  
In place of arms (using the torso model, as Kensuke saw it), there   
  
were what appeared to be two short ribbon strips. These strips now   
  
unfolded, and to Kensuke, looked like whips. These whips flew through   
  
the air toward Kensuke's Eva at an amazing pace.  
  
Kensuke was almost knocked cold after the first hit. As he tried to   
  
move the Eva, the other whip hit him again, knocking him to the   
  
ground. Certain he was going to die, Kensuke began to panic as the   
  
Angel started slowly drumming on the Eva's armour plating.  
  
Then the Angel stopped.  
  
Kensuke opened his eyes, and saw a gaping hole in the Angel. It was   
  
the last thing he saw, until he woke up in the same hospital that Rei,   
  
Shinji, Asuka and Toji had woken up in, except for the blinding light   
  
of the Angel exploding.  
  
  
  
The light on the screens cleared, showing a fallen Unit One, and a   
  
victorious Unit Two.  
  
"Way to go, Asuka!" Misato yelled.  
  
Asuka's reply came over the intercom: "That was too easy."  
  
"Get a rescue crew to Unit One!" Ritsuko yelled to the various   
  
technicians in Central Dogma, wondering how they could have forgotten   
  
about the pilot. "Now!"  
  
  
  
"You can't go on using the children as decoys, Ikari."  
  
"It worked, didn't it? He's still alive, isn't he?"  
  
"Yes...but still, one day, you will overestimate their ability."  
  
"Or underestimate it..."  
  
"What was that, Commander?"  
  
"Nothing. Prepare a repair crew for Unit One, Fuyutsuki."  
  
"Yes, Commander."  
  
  
  
"Hey, Kensuke..."  
  
Kensuke slowly opened his eyes, to see Rei and Shinji standing beside   
  
his...bed? Was he in a bed? _Why_ was he in a bed? _Where_ was he?  
  
"Where am I?"  
  
"In hospital. You kinda got knocked out in the Eva."  
  
"The Eva! What happened?"  
  
"Asuka shot the Angel from behind, and it blew up. Or that's what we   
  
heard, anyway."  
  
"Congratulations on your first battle, Pilot Aida," Rei said, shifting   
  
the subject slightly.  
  
"What am I being congratulated for?"  
  
"Surviving."  
  
Kensuke was silent. He now realised (as he had before he lost   
  
consciousness) how close he had been to death.  
  
"Are you going to stay on?"  
  
A long pause from Kensuke, then: "Yeah, I guess." He smiled slightly.   
  
"After all, this is what I waited for my whole life.  
  
"But I can understand why you guys quit, now."  
  
  
  
-Derek Zischke  
  
ageless_strange@optusnet.com.au  
  
  
  
"Do you suffer from long-term memory loss? I can't remember..."  
  
-Chumbawhamba  



	7. Untitled/Part 3.5

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis: Evangelion is not my property. It belong to   
  
GAINAX and all affiliates. I am not asking for any money for this   
  
written work. It is permissible to copy, quote, distribute, or in any   
  
other way reproduce the following texts only if they contain this   
  
disclaimer and credit to the author, or I will strike you down with   
  
great vengeance and furious anger.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
*Untitled/Part 3.5*  
  
  
  
Gendo Ikari sat overlooking all of Central Dogma, observing the   
  
various technicians checking various levels on various screens. This   
  
test could be crucial turning point in Nerv's battle against the   
  
Angels: to see if the DummyPlug could be used in an Evangelion without   
  
a pilot.  
  
He had told Seele that the DummyPlug was far too unstable, which was   
  
true; it was capable of bringing grievous harm to the pilot, something   
  
they would be concerned with. However, if there was no _pilot,_ there   
  
was no problem. In Seele's eyes, this should make all the difference   
  
when he had to explain this action to them.  
  
"What's the status on Unit Zero?" he heard Ritsuko ask one of the   
  
Lieutenants.  
  
"All systems nominal. DummyPlug is ready for insertion."  
  
"Commence activation!"  
  
The sealed plug slowly twisted its was into Unit Zero. Lights and   
  
displays came to life on the screens in Central Dogma, following the   
  
plug's activation. Nothing went red.  
  
Good.  
  
Ikari smiled behind his hands. Perhaps this could mean the end of the   
  
pilots...  
  
"Abort test! Unit Zero is refusing the DummyPlug!"  
  
As the plug un-inserted itself from the Eva, Ikari thought to himself,   
  
_We need Rei back here._  
  
  
  
In Terminal Dogma, Kouzou Fuyutsuki stared at the display that Ikari   
  
had set up in Rei's room. This _is why he wanted Rei's stuff_, he   
  
thought to himself. And, shortly after that: _This has got to be   
  
stopped._  
  
  
  
"Good to see you back, Fuyutsuki."  
  
"What the hell are you trying to pull?"  
  
Silent surprise from Ikari.  
  
"What is wrong with you? Setting up Dogma like her room, you could be   
  
declared mentally unfit, do you know that? You have to _stop thinking   
  
about her!_"  
  
After a long silence following the Sub-Commander's almost-whispered   
  
words, Gendo said, "You're right. Clear it out. All of it. And..."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Arrange something for Rei and Shinji...get them out of the   
  
city...away from here."  
  
"I'll see what I can do...we need to keep our focus here, Commander."  
  
"I know that."  
  
"Don't forget it."  
  
As Fuyutsuki left, Ikari could only think of one simple phrase: out of   
  
sight, out of mind. Maybe this was too true in his situation. Maybe if   
  
they were gone...  
  
Ikari shook his head. This wasn't how he wanted it to be.  
  
  
  
"A...holiday? What for?"  
  
"Well, Nerv figured that, seeing as you two aren't needed on permanent   
  
standby anymore, and school is out for a while, you could use some   
  
time to...unwind."  
  
"And..." He could see Misato was holding something back.  
  
"The Commander specifically requested that you be relocated for a   
  
while...away from the city."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Here are the tickets. Remember to tell Rei that..."  
  
Shinji began to zone out after Misato's comment about his father. Away   
  
from the city? Away from the _Angels?_ Did he actually...care for   
  
their safety? Or...  
  
_Or was it a way of getting rid of them?_  
  
"...You call this number. Have you got that, Shinji?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess. I'll go tell Rei."  
  
  
  
As Shinji heard Misato's car take off back to Nerv, he thought over   
  
just why his father would get the two of them out of the city. He had   
  
narrowed it down to three reasons; one, he wanted to forget about the   
  
mistake of the two pilots that left by getting them out of the entire   
  
city; two, deep down in his heart, he really did care whether he and   
  
Rei lived or died; or three, he was suffering some kind of mental   
  
breakdown due to extreme stress brought on by constantly being alert   
  
for the next Angel attack. In the midst of his considerations, a   
  
thought occurred to him; strangely, yet fittingly, it had Asuka's   
  
voice.  
  
_You're getting a holiday with your girlfriend, all expenses paid! How   
  
could you_ not _want to go?_  
  
"Yeah...what am I, stupid?"  
  
  
  
"Hey, Rei..."  
  
"Hmm?" Rei slipped a bookmark into the book she was reading and looked   
  
up at Shinji standing in the doorway.  
  
"Wanna take a vacation?"  
  
  
  
Shinji stared at the large hotel in front of him, thinking how long it   
  
had been since he had seen any building that even resembled this one.   
  
Almost a year, now. In Tokyo-3, all buildings were either retractable   
  
apartment blocks or weapons storage for the Evas. He had also noticed,   
  
on the taxi drive from the airport, that there were no weapons   
  
disguised as statues or fittings or whatever. It was something he had   
  
gotten used to, but now in its absence, he could fully appreciate it.  
  
Rei simply stared. She hadn't been outside of the militant area around   
  
Tokyo-3 in her existence, or at least, no time that she could   
  
remember. It was a relief to her, as it was to Shinji, not to see   
  
giant sliding plates on the ground marked "Eva Socket'.  
  
The plane trip was a unique experience for both of them. Shinji, who   
  
had spent plenty of time in the helicopters that Nerv used, but never   
  
actually in a plane, was quietly thrilled by the whole experience.   
  
Rei, on the other hand, seemed to have developed a mild fear of flight   
  
from somewhere, which Shinji found odd. He thought that she must have   
  
been in one of Nerv's helicopters, at one stage or another. Had he   
  
seen her in one? He may have, but the memory had faded. Anyway, Rei   
  
had almost clung to Shinji during the entire flight. Not that it   
  
wasn't a hard task to endure, being close to her, Shinji had thought   
  
(on several occasions throughout their time in the air), and he had   
  
secretly wondered to himself if this was a pretext for her to get   
  
close to him. Possibly...  
  
They had both been told to pack light, and that they had done; they   
  
only carried three moderately sized bags with them, containing items   
  
that couldn't be bought on the unlimited budget that Nerv had supplied   
  
them with. Neither Shinji nor Rei could remember exactly all the items   
  
that they had packed. Mainly because they had gotten...distracted   
  
halfway through, thought Rei, remembering how Shinji had embraced her   
  
while she was looking for something in her closet. That had led to one   
  
of their heavier make-out sessions...the remnants of which she could   
  
still feel on her lips.  
  
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Shinji asked, breaking the silence as   
  
the two of them stood in the shadow of the hotel.  
  
"Nothing, I guess...I wonder if we got a room with a good view?"  
  
  
  
Nerv had gotten them a room on the second highest floor...not quite   
  
the penthouse suite, but close. They had a good view from the hight;   
  
unfortunately, most of the view was the vast cityscape. Not that the   
  
city wasn't something to be impressed by, Shinji thought to himself,   
  
sitting out on the balcony, idly watching the assorted vehicles pass   
  
below him.  
  
He heard the glass door slide open behind him, and Rei came out to   
  
join him.  
  
"How long do we have until school is back in again?" Rei asked.  
  
"Five weeks, if I counted right...why?"  
  
"We've got five weeks here...wow."  
  
"Five weeks without having to think about Nerv or the Angels."  
  
"Yeah, and five weeks to do this..."  
  
Rei gave Shinji a passionate kiss.  
  
  
  
An incredibly attractive man, who happened to be a spy for the   
  
American government, was in the midst of kissing an incredibly   
  
attractive woman, who happened to be a spy for the Russian government.  
  
"I don't get it. Is she a spy?" asked Rei.  
  
Shinji, who had been trying to follow the movie, without much success,   
  
replied, "I think so."  
  
"Then why is he trying to get information from her?"  
  
"He changed sides about halfway though. Didn't you see that?"  
  
"No. Too busy concentrating on other things, I guess..." She ran her   
  
hand up Shinji's arm, and went back to resting her head on his   
  
shoulder.  
  
A few moments later, halfway through Shinji trying to figure out why   
  
the attractive American man had shot someone, Rei asked, "Is this   
  
making _any_ sense?"  
  
"No...not really."  
  
Rei extracted herself from Shinji's embrace and announced, "I'll be in   
  
my room, reading, if you want me. This movie is making my head ache."  
  
  
  
During yet another car chase involving the American spy, Shinji   
  
decided that he _did_ want her.  
  
  
  
Rei, as she had said, was in the separated bedroom, sprawled out on   
  
her bed, reading the book Shinji had seen her reading for a while.   
  
From what he could gather, it was a romance novel, set before the   
  
Second Impact. Life, it seemed, was easier then. Maybe that was the   
  
reason she became so attached to reading: escapism. He noticed   
  
absently that Rei had changed her clothes to her sleeping attire: in   
  
Shinji's eyes she looked unimaginably cute in the shorts and top she   
  
slept in.  
  
Shinji lay down in his bed, intending to sleep, but instead ended up   
  
mindlessly gazing at the ceiling and absorbed deeply into his   
  
thoughts. So deeply, in fact, that he didn't realise Rei had stopped   
  
reading her book and now lay beside him, until he felt her breath on   
  
his neck.  
  
"Why did you move?"  
  
"I'm cold," she replied, moving to embrace Shinji further. This was   
  
definitely a pretext; she didn't feel cold at all. Still, what concern   
  
was it of his? This was just like on the plane.  
  
"What'cha thinking?" Rei asked.  
  
"I was just thinking how much I'd like to do this." Shinji lent over   
  
and kissed her on the cheek.  
  
"That's funny."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"'Cause I was just thinking how much I'd like to do this." Rei kissed   
  
Shinji, strongly, on the lips.  
  
After a few moments spent in comfortable silence, Rei asked in a voice   
  
that was barely above a whisper: "Do you love me, Shinji?"  
  
"Of course I do, Rei."  
  
She moved in closer to Shinji, which he hadn't thought was possible,   
  
and kissed the nape of his neck. She spoke again, an in that single   
  
moment, Shinji felt that all noise, even the beating of their hearts,   
  
had stopped.  
  
"Make love to me."  
  
He began to kiss her back, and asked, "Do you want that?"  
  
"Yes...yes."  
  
  
  
Rei lay awake, thinking of the night she and Shinji had just had.   
  
Images flashed in her head in rapid succession; his lips over hers,   
  
her hands through his hair, his hand at her breast. Rei smiled to   
  
herself in the darkness, and thought, _We are now truly one: one body,   
  
one mind, one soul._  
  
  
  
In the morning, Shinji woke, feeling as though something was off-  
  
centre, and realised where he was: no longer in Tokyo-3 in the   
  
apartment, but in a hotel room with Rei in his arms.  
  
A sleeping Rei in his arms.  
  
A _beautiful,_ sleeping Rei in his arms.  
  
He lent over to her, and kissed her in her sleep, thinking of how much   
  
she was an angel, not those beings that he had fought in the Eva. He   
  
slid out of the bed to get dressed.  
  
  
  
"I wonder what Asuka would say about this?" Shinji mused out loud,   
  
later in the day.  
  
"_Asuka_ doesn't need to say anything," Rei replied, stopping any   
  
further musings with a deep kiss.  
  
  
  
-Derek Zischke  
  
ageless_strange@optusnet.com.au  
  
  
  
"Do you suffer from long-term memory loss? I can't remember..."  
  
-Chumbawhamba  



	8. Intermission III

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis: Evangelion is not my property. It belong to   
  
GAINAX and all affiliates. I am not asking for any money for this   
  
written work. It is permissible to copy, quote, distribute, or in any   
  
other way reproduce the following texts only if they contain this   
  
disclaimer and credit to the author, or I will strike you down with   
  
great vengeance and furious anger.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
*Intermission III*  
  
  
Light surrounded Kensuke in the entry plug. His body seemed to lose   
  
partial control over itself, being controlled by not one but two   
  
consciences. In his head, he could hear a buzzing; communication of   
  
some kind, some alien nature.  
  
The Angel.  
  
Memories floated to the surface of his mind; things he never would   
  
have imagined recalling, minor things, major things, everything. He   
  
had heard of life flashing before your eyes, but never expected it   
  
would be like this.  
  
Newer memories began to come to him. Starting the new year. Toji. The   
  
transfer student, Shinji. Almost being crushed under a giant purple   
  
hand. Misato Katsuragi. Watching the two Evas arise from out of a   
  
mountain. Shinji's interaction with Rei. The cruiser. Asuka.  
  
Asuka Langley Sohryu.  
  
Images, sounds, emotions resurfaced themselves about her. Her   
  
criticisms through the Eva's intercom. A strip of film negatives.   
  
Himself saying that the pictures don't reveal her personality. Her   
  
voice from behind the changing partition. Her burnt-red hair. Her   
  
face.  
  
Her.  
  
Asuka Langley Sohryu.  
  
The mortal enemy.  
  
Asuka Langley Sohryu.  
  
The socialite.  
  
Asuka Langley Sohryu.  
  
The other pilot.  
  
Asuka Langley Sohryu.  
  
An object of desire...  
  
Suddenly, the light darkened, the noise silenced and Kensuke's mind   
  
came back under his control. Through the Evangelion's intercom, he   
  
could hear Asuka being congratulated for spearing the Angel, or   
  
something.  
  
_What have I just experienced?_  
  
Kensuke felt his conscious thought slowly slip away, himself being   
  
drained from the Angel's absence. He lay back in the pilot's seat,   
  
closed his eyes, and began to see Asuka Langley Sohryu, someone he had   
  
maintained a pretence of hating for almost a year, in an entirely new   
  
light.  
  
  
  
"The pilot is still mentally stable?"  
  
"All the tests conform."  
  
"Does he remember what happened?"  
  
"We can't know for sure until he wakes up."  
  
"What is the probability of complete recollection?"  
  
"That is still unconfirmed."  
  
"We cannot afford to lose another pilot to your mistakes."  
  
"Yes, the loss of the Lance of Longinus is already weighing heavily on   
  
our reconsideration of your position."  
  
"The Lance was the only solution. We must accept the loss and continue   
  
proceeding to the schedule."  
  
"That is not your judgment to make, Ikari."  
  
  
  
"Kensuke? You awake?"  
  
Kensuke's eyes struggled to batter awake. Through hazy vision he saw a   
  
vague shape standing beside his side.  
  
"Hmm...who's there?"  
  
"It's me...Asuka."  
  
"Asuka? What're you doing here?"  
  
"Well, I...I came to see how you were doing. Nothing wrong with that,   
  
is there?"  
  
"No..." Groggy as he was, Kensuke could still see Asuka being her   
  
defensive self.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Kensuke heard Asuka speak, but didn't understand it, as sleep had him   
  
in its grip again.  
  
Replacement/additional scenes; 'At Least, Be Humane/Don't Be'  
  
  
  
"You're going to be making a direct assault on the Angel. The A.T.   
  
Field we've detected is the second-highest we've ever seen, so you two   
  
will need to get in close and nullify it first before you can do any   
  
damage."  
  
"What are these things for?" Asuka asked from inside the cockpit,   
  
gesturing to the large capsules mounted on her Eva's arm.  
  
"Those are only a temporary measure. They were part of a bomber from   
  
the military, but we had them modified to fit the N2 mines. You're   
  
carrying a lot of explosive power, so be careful. Keep your A.T.   
  
Fields at full all the time: those things are dangerous even inside   
  
the Evas."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah..."  
  
  
  
The two Evangelions reached the surface. As soon as Kensuke's Eva was   
  
free from its restrains, he began charging the Angel.  
  
"Idiot! Come back here!" Asuka yelled at him.  
  
"Direct assault, that's what Misato said. This is direct as it gets!"  
  
"Misato also said to be careful!" The red Eva started running after   
  
the purple Eva.  
  
Kensuke had reached the Angel's A.T. Field, and was pushing against it   
  
with his left hand, readying the N2 capsules with his right. Due to   
  
his focus in the Angel, which was shaped like a giant blue helix, he   
  
didn't notice one whip-like end preparing to strike him.  
  
"Kensuke! Look out!" Asuka yelled at him.  
  
She saw his Eva's head turn, and the next few moments seemed to pass   
  
in slow-motion.  
  
Asuka planned to push Kensuke out of the way of the Angel, but she had   
  
failed to notice one thing: the length of umbilical cable lying on the   
  
ground, connected to Unit One. Her foot snagged it, and she stumbled,   
  
and the however many tons of metal which made up Unit Two crashed into   
  
the however many tons of metal which made up Unit One. In the impact,   
  
both of the N2 mine capsules attached to the Eva's arms dislodged, and   
  
fell to the ground.  
  
Kensuke had barely enough time to roll his Eva onto Asuka's and set   
  
his A.T. Field to full power before the explosion flew over them.  
  
  
  
Asuka came to after blanking out for a moment inside her Eva, feeling   
  
badly bruised all over. All of the nerve circuits had been cut off, as   
  
she could no longer feel anything of the outside world around her. A   
  
haze of red momentarily came into her vision: her own blood. Her nose   
  
was bleeding.  
  
_Kensuke..._  
  
Asuka reached for the Eva's phone line, feeling pain up her arm. The   
  
holographic screen came up, showing Kensuke with his head leant back   
  
against his seat and breathing heavily. He noticed the screen.  
  
"Asuka? Are you alright?"  
  
"Thanks," she managed to get out before she lapsed back into   
  
unconsciousness. "For saving me."  
  
Additional scenes; 'Tear/Rei III'  
  
  
  
-Derek Zischke  
  
ageless_strange@optusnet.com.au  
  
  
  
"Do you suffer from long-term memory loss? I can't remember..."  
  
-Chumbawhamba  



	9. Episode 24': Messenger's Finale/The End ...

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis: Evangelion is not my property. It belong to   
  
GAINAX and all affiliates. I am not asking for any money for this   
  
written work. It is permissible to copy, quote, distribute, or in any   
  
other way reproduce the following texts only if they contain this   
  
disclaimer and credit to the author, or I will strike you down with   
  
great vengeance and furious anger.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
*Messenger's Finale/The End of the Beginning of the End*  
  
  
  
Shinji cast his gaze out at the sun setting over the giant, water-  
  
filled hole that had been Tokyo-3. Rei was inside, reading, and Misato   
  
was still at work. Shinji knew that he wouldn't see her get home: she   
  
would be working late again. As usual. It had been like that after   
  
that incident with Kaji...  
  
He felt, as he always did when he was introspective, divided on his   
  
choice to leave Nerv. He had almost lost one friend by staying, but he   
  
feared he could lose another because of his choice to leave.   
  
Kensuke...  
  
He didn't know just what had happened to cause the explosion, as Asuka   
  
was reluctant to talk about the last mission and he hadn't seen   
  
Kensuke after the mass relocation, but he had surmised that there had   
  
been a lot of N2 mines, and it had been messy. He thought that perhaps   
  
Asuka had made an unforgivable mistake, at least in her eyes, and   
  
refused to talk about it. Like she always did: kept it inside, hid her   
  
emotions, silenced her true nature. But did he ever want to see what   
  
her true nature was?  
  
Shinji shook his head. This wasn't what he wanted his thoughts to   
  
wander to in the darkness of the night. He focused back on the gaping   
  
hole, and tried to believe that there had been a city there, only a   
  
few days ago.  
  
"It looks like an act of God," he said to himself. "Or the act of an   
  
Angel."  
  
  
  
"I don't like this, sir. Why would Seele send us a pilot directly,   
  
when only weeks before they almost refused to give us one when we   
  
needed it?"  
  
"I've taken this into consideration. The old men work for causes I   
  
don't fully understand. If they wish to send a pilot, so be it."  
  
"But sir..."  
  
"What concerns us are the Angels. We must keep alert for the final   
  
attack."  
  
"Yes, Commander."  
  
Ikari knew that a lot of what he was telling Fuyutsuki was a lie, and   
  
_knew_ that he knew it. If Seele wanted to send him a pilot, it   
  
certainly wouldn't be out of the goodness of their hearts: actually,   
  
Ikari had the impression that at the moment, he was one of Seele's   
  
least favourite people. But this fact was of little importance to him:   
  
with Rei the way she was, and the DummyPlugs destroyed, he was   
  
intrigued to see just how they would act out their scenario.  
  
The DummyPlugs...  
  
"Fuyutsuki, take the comm for me. I have to go have a talk with   
  
Ritsuko."  
  
  
  
"The sixth child arrives tomorrow. He's going to be the pilot of Unit   
  
Zero."  
  
"Mm, I know. Do we have any information on him as of yet?"  
  
"No, not really, Major. Just a name and date of birth."  
  
"Well, what are they?"  
  
"He's called Kaworu Nagisa, and he was born on...the same day as   
  
Second Impact."  
  
"Are the rest of the files classified?"  
  
"No...just erased."  
  
"Just like the first child...we need to keep a close eye on him."  
  
"Yes. On another note, are you going to be working late again tonight,   
  
Major?"  
  
"I will, yes. Will I see you here, Makoto?"  
  
"You will. I want know the whole truth as much as you do."  
  
  
  
Kensuke, unaware that he was looking at the exact same scene as Shinji   
  
was, stared across the newly-formed lake from a pile of rubble. He had   
  
avoided Shinji, because of the simple fact that he couldn't face him.   
  
Not after he had seen Doctor Akagi destroy what looked like dozens of   
  
Reis. He was unsure if he could even get into the pilot's seat   
  
again...  
  
He had avoided Asuka, too. He didn't want to blurt out something about   
  
those...clones. He didn't want to mess up her mind, as well as his   
  
own. Although he would never admit it, working with Asuka had made   
  
him...care for her, somewhat. Sure, she could be a pain   
  
sometimes...heck, almost _all_ of the time, but there had been one or   
  
two moments when he had seen a human being behind her mask of   
  
competitiveness.  
  
If only she would show that all the time...  
  
Kensuke sighed to himself, and skipped a piece of a building across   
  
the water. This was probably just his hormones talking. He really did   
  
need to get out more.  
  
  
  
Faint light flowed into the dark room. Ritsuko didn't need to turn to   
  
see who was at the door: she already knew who was there, and his   
  
purpose.  
  
"Hello, Commander," she said, cutting and sarcastic. "Did you know my   
  
cat died? I hadn't seen it in a while, but now I know that I'll never   
  
see it again. It came as kind of a shock to me, but I doubt that you   
  
would understand what I'm talking about..."  
  
"Why did you destroy the Dummy System?" Ikari was unfazed by her   
  
seeming rantings.  
  
"It wasn't the Dummy System I destroyed: it was Rei!"  
  
"I will ask again: why?"  
  
Ritsuko let out a laugh: a twisted cackle of the insane. "Why? Why   
  
_not?_ Death doesn't seem to matter too much to you anyway. You don't   
  
care for people, only what they can accomplish for you."  
  
"Answer the question, Ritsuko."  
  
"You don't really need me to answer, do you? This is just for show,   
  
for the Committee, isn't it? What does it matter what I say here?" She   
  
paused for a moment, and then her emotion caught up on her. "I'm not   
  
happy anymore, not even when you make love to me! Do whatever you want   
  
to achieve your twisted goals. It's never stopped you before!"  
  
"You disappoint me. I will come back when I can get an answer."  
  
"Fine!" She heard the door shut behind her. "Leave me to rot here,   
  
just like all the others," Ritsuko whispered to herself, through   
  
bitter tears.  
  
  
  
Shinji had watched the sun set from Misato's balcony, never moving   
  
from the spot he had stood in. He was wondering who the sixth child   
  
would be, having heard from Asuka, who didn't exactly have the   
  
tightest lips when it came to what was going on at Nerv. Would this   
  
one leave, too, after he realised what he was walking into? Would he   
  
take pride in what he did, unaware of how much he was being eaten up   
  
inside? Would he break under the strain? What would become of the   
  
sixth child?  
  
_Not that it's any of my business, anyway,_ Shinji thought to himself.   
  
_Nerv's not my concern anymore. I hope it's not someone I know...I   
  
couldn't face watching another friend being consumed by Nerv. I wish I   
  
could just forget about Nerv, like Rei has._  
  
He walked inside, to sleep a restless night.  
  
  
  
Asuka woke the next morning, feeling slightly more disgruntled than   
  
usual. She was one of the tens of thousands that were relocated, and   
  
she wasn't too partial to sharing a room, let alone with four other   
  
people. She liked being alone in her own apartment, without idiots   
  
like Shinji and Rei (who, in her opinion, were the two most _un_-  
  
focused beings on the entire planet) to distract her. She also had to   
  
travel further to get to the Geofront every morning, now that the   
  
schools (along with the rest of the city) had been destroyed, and   
  
without any public transport...  
  
But perhaps today could be turned about. The new pilot was arriving   
  
today, to take the place of Rei, who Asuka had always found a little   
  
creepy. Sure, she always acted normal enough, but there was something   
  
about her...something not quite right...  
  
Asuka paused in her morning preparations. She had lost her thought.   
  
What was it? Rei, Unit Zero...ah, the new pilot. She had figured that   
  
it was a boy, as everyone at Nerv was referring to him as a 'he', and   
  
one of the reasons that she was mad this morning was that all the boys   
  
she had encountered were far to immature for their own good. But   
  
still, she could hope...  
  
As she left the shared apartment in the breaking hours of the morning,   
  
her thoughts turned to the other pilot still at Nerv, Kensuke. It   
  
often seemed to her that he was cut out to be a pilot even more than   
  
she was, but for all the wrong reasons. He was obsessed beyond belief   
  
with anything to do with war and explosives, and it often got in the   
  
way of the mission: that had been shown in the last Angel's attack. If   
  
that idiot had been a little more professional, and not so damn   
  
excited about the N2 mines, maybe his umbilical cable wouldn't have   
  
been in the way...  
  
Asuka shook her head. Snapped back into reality, she could see one   
  
thing that was a plus about there being no Tokyo-3: with the school   
  
gone, she didn't have to wear the stupid Japanese school uniform   
  
anymore.  
  
  
  
Shinji stared at the piece of toast he had made for himself, not   
  
really considering eating it, and thinking of how he could have   
  
changed what had happened, had he been at Nerv. He didn't know if that   
  
sounded arrogant, from the outside, but after what he felt was a   
  
betrayal to Kensuke-  
  
"What's wrong with you this morning?" he heard from the bedroom door.   
  
Rei was awake.  
  
"Just thinking," he replied. His voice must have been glummer than he   
  
intended, because Rei sat down in the opposite chair and proceeded to   
  
stare at him.  
  
"What's really wrong, Shinji? You've been like this for days."  
  
"I just...just keep thinking about Kensuke. How I could have   
  
stopped..."  
  
"You couldn't have stopped it. You have to stop thinking about how   
  
_you_ could have prevented it, if you had been there."  
  
"That's not it, dammit!" Shinji yelled, louder than he had wanted to.   
  
"I left, and they chose him to take my place. If I hadn't left, he   
  
would still be safe." He could feel several tears coursing down his   
  
cheeks.  
  
"None of us are safe, anymore. Kensuke's fate is out of your control.   
  
You have to stop beating yourself up about leaving."  
  
Shinji took a deep, hitching breath, and finally said, "Every time I   
  
look outside, I'm reminded of it all..."  
  
Rei placed her hand over Shinji's. "Then perhaps you should stop   
  
looking outside."  
  
"That means running away again..."  
  
"Sometimes, we all need to run."  
  
  
  
Misato yawned loudly as she walked to the lunchroom to make some   
  
coffee. She would have preferred a beer, in the current state that her   
  
mind was in, but still, beggars couldn't be choosers.  
  
She went to change the settings on the coffee maker, when Makoto   
  
stopped her.  
  
"I would prefer it if you didn't fiddle with that," he said rather   
  
bluntly.  
  
"Okay." She flopped into one of the chairs. "Your coffee always tastes   
  
better than mine, anyway." Misato yawned again, and remarked, "These   
  
all-nighters are killing me."  
  
"Yeah, me too. The sixth child should be here soon."  
  
"Well, I hope that coffee of yours works, then," Misato said, as she   
  
smiled her morning smile at Makoto.  
  
  
  
Asuka scanned her Nerv access card, and watched the door open on a   
  
young, grey-haired boy, wearing a dark blue plugsuit.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"I could just as well ask the same question of you."  
  
"But I asked first."  
  
The boy smiled at her. "Kaworu Nagisa." He stepped aside to let Asuka   
  
through the door.  
  
"Asuka Langley Sohryu," she replied, eyeing him as she walked past.   
  
Kaworu followed her.  
  
"So...are you the sixth child?" she asked conversationally.  
  
"That I am. You would be the second child, from Germany, right?"  
  
"Right. How did you know that?"  
  
"They gave me some information on my fellow pilots before I was bought   
  
here. I assume you were given access to the same material."  
  
"Yeah, but at that time, there wasn't really much to read about."  
  
"What _did_ happen to the first and third children? I know what   
  
happened with Unit Three and it's pilot, but there is no documentation   
  
on where _they_ are."  
  
"Nerv mustn't have updated it yet, then. They left."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"They just weren't made of the right stuff. But we don't need to worry   
  
about them too much."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
They spend far too much time making out to even begin to understand   
  
what we're doing here, and how important it is to the fate of   
  
mankind."  
  
"Ah, I see." In the brief moment that there was a lapse in the   
  
conversation, Asuka had time to reflect. What was different about her   
  
today? This morning she had been ready to blow anyone or anything out   
  
of the water if they dared to add fuel to the flames of her bad mood,   
  
but Kaworu...Kaworu had somehow diffused her. And in the first few   
  
minutes of meeting her, no less! Why, then? Was it his pleasant voice?   
  
His non-aggressive, yet assertive, tone? That fact it looked like he   
  
had his hair cut like Kaji? Or was it...  
  
Could it be love at first sight?  
  
No more than a handful of seconds could have passed, but to Asuka,   
  
lost in her thoughts, it could have been the same length of time it   
  
had taken her to walk to Nerv. The particular path that her thoughts   
  
had taken, and the fact that when Kaworu spoke again, the word he said   
  
really did make him sound like Kaji, caused her to be more embarrassed   
  
that would normally warrant.  
  
"To deny one's basic nature is to deny that which makes us ourselves.   
  
To deny ourselves is to hide what we really want, therefore hiding our   
  
true pleasures."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Jealous?"  
  
"What? No! Why would _I_ be jealous of them? I mean, the way those two   
  
idiots act, why would I want to be _anything_ like them?"  
  
Kaworu simply smiled at her leaned in close, and whispered, "I know I   
  
would be, if I were you." His composition completely changed after he   
  
spoke, going from the personal tone he had just taken to the one he   
  
had used when he had first seen her. "I believe this is where our   
  
conversation ends."  
  
"What do you mean?" Asuka asked, confused by his statement. By _both_   
  
of his statements.  
  
"You have to go and get changed, don't you? For the test?"  
  
"Oh, right."  
  
"I'll see you at the sync tests."  
  
"Right."  
  
Asuka watched Kaworu disappear down the steep escalator and thought to   
  
herself, _Mein Gott, I think I really_ do _like him._  
  
  
  
"You're late, Major Katsuragi."  
  
Misato, as she absently noticed that the Sub-Commander had replaced   
  
Ritsuko for this test, replied, "On the contrary, you could say I was   
  
the first one here."  
  
"Or the last one to leave," Maya stated, not looking away from the   
  
screens. "What on earth do you and Makoto get up to here, late at   
  
night?"  
  
"Nothing." Maya glanced, or glared, as Misato saw it, up at her.   
  
"_Nothing,_ Maya."  
  
"If you say so..."  
  
"Would you two stop that? Don't we have a test to run?"  
  
"Yes, sir!"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
  
  
"These readings are amazing. How can he synchronise like that, his   
  
first time in an Eva?"  
  
"I don't know, sir. But he is. This is phenomenal!"  
  
"Whether it's phenomenal or not, we still have to know why he can do   
  
it. These reading are off the scale, even allowing for the scope that   
  
we give tests like this."  
  
Following her words, at thought occurred to Misato. She had said that   
  
her and Makoto would have to keep a close eye on him: maybe they would   
  
have to keep a closer eye than they thought.  
  
  
  
"You did well today."  
  
"As did you."  
  
"But you haven't had any previous piloting experience, right? It looks   
  
like we're in competition."  
  
"I wouldn't say that."  
  
Kaworu saw Asuka pause through the partition in the changing room. He   
  
didn't, however, notice Kensuke giving him an odd look.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"I would never even think of competing with someone as beautiful as   
  
you, Asuka."  
  
This time, Kaworu didn't even need to glance at the shadows on the   
  
partition to know that Asuka was staring at him.  
  
"Would you stop that?" she yelled.  
  
"Stop what?"  
  
"You know very well what I mean!" Before she stormed out, her bad mood   
  
started again by the one who had stopped it, she yelled out, "Boys!"  
  
"Why did you do that to her? She's going to be like that for days   
  
now."  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"No, really. I wouldn't bother." Kensuke looked at Kaworu, noticing   
  
that his eyes were the same deep red as Rei's. "It's not worth it.   
  
Trust me."  
  
Kaworu leant back on the bench he was sitting on and said, "Perhaps   
  
some things are worth more than what they seem."  
  
"You're crazy."  
  
  
  
"Wait! Asuka!"  
  
Asuka ignored her pursuer, stepping into the elevator without so much   
  
as a backward glance. Kaworu lunged at the closing doors, but stopped   
  
short by a few inches. He hung his head, leaning against the doors,   
  
and inhaled deeply, catching his breath, thinking of where he would go   
  
to now.  
  
"Just missed her, huh?" Kaworu looked behind him to see Kensuke   
  
standing at the end of the hallway.  
  
He ran a hand though his hair. "It would appear so."  
  
"If you want to know where she's going, I think I can tell you,"   
  
Kensuke said helpfully.  
  
"I already know where her apartment is."  
  
"But that's not where she'll be. There's a place she goes to after   
  
tests sometimes..."  
  
  
  
Asuka folded her arms and rested on the railing that encompassed the   
  
lookout, watching as the sun set behind the lake that wasn't written   
  
onto Tokyo maps yet. She knew that Shinji and Rei came here on   
  
occasion, and they had persuaded her to come one time when they still   
  
were pilots and the city still stood. It was quite...something,   
  
witnessing the beauty of nature coincide with the power of technology.   
  
Now that the balance had been disrupted, Asuka wasn't sure if it   
  
seemed better or worse. Still, most of the previous visitors probably   
  
couldn't have cared about the view at sunset. Judging from the faded   
  
grass and overlayed tyre tracks, this place would have once been   
  
teeming with cars and couples expressing their love for each other.   
  
Was that what drew Shinji and Rei here? And did she want to know?  
  
Love...Asuka had never truly understood what it was, what others saw   
  
in it. Through college she had considered it a weakness. In Tokyo-3,   
  
she had watched Shinji and Rei at a distance, and her friend Hikari   
  
beside Toji's bed in the hospital, and she had claimed to all that she   
  
thought they were pathetic, but still, there could be   
  
some...merit...in what they did...  
  
"Asuka?" She looked up to see Kaworu standing hesitant at the top of   
  
the stairs to the observation deck where she stood. She turned back   
  
around, ignoring him as she had after the tests. With her eyes firmly   
  
fixed on the ground, she could see Kaworu's shadow come up to stand   
  
beside her own.  
  
"You didn't wait," he said after a moment of silence.  
  
"Why should I have?"  
  
"Because..." He paused for a second. "Because I wanted to apologise.   
  
I'm sorry."  
  
Asuka was stunned. This was the last thing she had expected to hear.   
  
She looked up at Kaworu.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'm sorry, Asuka."  
  
"Apology...accepted, I guess." He smiled, and she returned it, and   
  
both of them laughed slightly, the air beginning to clear. Kaworu   
  
proffered his hand.  
  
"Friends?"  
  
Asuka took his hand to shake it.  
  
"Friends."  
  
Awkward silence followed the pair disengaging hands. Finally, Kaworu   
  
broke it and asked, "I don't quite know where I'm supposed to go now.   
  
I assumed that I would be given accommodation, but there doesn't seem   
  
to be much of that around any more."  
  
Asuka thought things through. She didn't think that she, Kaworu or her   
  
fellow relocatees would be too pleased about another person at the   
  
apartment. However, she did happen to know of somewhere that was   
  
relatively vacant...  
  
"I think I know somewhere we can stay. It's a friend's place..."  
  
  
  
"Asuka? What are you doing here?"  
  
"What? Can't a friend visit another friend for a friendly chat?"  
  
"You're sick of your apartment, aren't you?"  
  
"No...well, not really...anyway, there's someone I'd like you to meet.   
  
Shinji, this is Kaworu Nagisa, the new pilot."  
  
Shinji looked at Kaworu, who was standing behind Asuka, uttered a   
  
polite, 'Pleased to meet you', and then directed his attention back to   
  
Asuka.  
  
"No, really, what _are_ you doing here?"  
  
Asuka dropped her pretence. "He didn't get anywhere to stay, on   
  
account of the city not being here any more. I thought that, seeing as   
  
you're not too crowded here..."  
  
Shinji sighed. "Fine, come in. Rei's here, too."  
  
"What about Misato?"  
  
"She's...working late."  
  
"Oh."  
  
  
  
Over dinner, after all introductions, polite conversation was made   
  
about life of the various parties. Most of this polite conversation   
  
was lies. Oddly enough, no one asked Kaworu about his life, before he   
  
was chosen to be a pilot. After dinner, Rei and Shinji helped to   
  
prepare bedding for their two guests. After that, Shinji stood, as he   
  
always did, to watch the sun set over that which had been Tokyo-3.   
  
However, unlike always, Rei came out to join him.  
  
"It's so like humans, isn't it? We'll destroy what protects us in   
  
order to destroy what attacks us."  
  
"I thought you were going to stop this."  
  
Shinji took a deep breath and closed his eyes, meditating on the   
  
moment. Finally, he replied, "You're right. We're not a part of this   
  
any more."  
  
  
  
"Where did you get these files?"  
  
"Well, I kind of borrowed them from Lieutenant Ibuki...I'm sure she   
  
won't miss them."  
  
"These say what's almost impossible."  
  
"I know. How can he set his sync ratio to whatever he chooses?"  
  
"I have no idea."  
  
"Oh, and another thing..." Makoto leaned in close to Misato and   
  
whispered, "I found out where they're keeping Ritsuko."  
  
"Thankyou. I could need to talk to her, after this."  
  
  
  
"Tell me about yourself."  
  
"What? Didn't you say you saw the Nerv Pilot files?"  
  
"Not all of them. Most parts require some kind of authorisation."  
  
"What did you see?"  
  
"Not much...name, age, date of birth..."  
  
"Oh. Well..." Asuka paused and considered. "There's nothing much to   
  
say, really. My father worked for the German branch of Nerv, and   
  
that's how I became a pilot. I graduated from college last year, and   
  
then I was transferred to Tokyo-3."  
  
"What about your parents now?"  
  
"I...I'm not in contact with them anymore. I guess you could say I'm   
  
alone, now."  
  
Asuka watched Kaworu's gaze wander over the ruin of Tokyo-3, and asked   
  
herself, _Why? Why am I telling him all this?_  
  
"I, too, am alone."  
  
  
  
"Where's Asuka?"  
  
"She on the balcony."  
  
"Oh?" Rei's brow furrowed.  
  
"With Kaworu."  
  
"Oh..."  
  
"What does that mean?"  
  
"Didn't you notice the way he kept looking at her?"  
  
"No...not really."  
  
"Well, anyway...," Rei began, repositioning herself in Shinji's   
  
embrace. "I think it's a good thing."  
  
"You do?"  
  
"Yes. We all need someone to rely on."  
  
Shinji kissed her softly and said, "Yeah, we do."  
  
  
  
Kaworu lay awake, much as Rei Ayanami had in the final moments before   
  
her humanity, considering. He had told the Second Child that to deny   
  
one's self was to go against one's core nature...and this was truer   
  
for no other than him. He could sense in Asuka that she was unsure   
  
what to do with the new emotions she felt. As was he. Emotion, as it   
  
had been to Rei, was new to him, unfamiliar, alien. He knew that if he   
  
waited any longer, this 'emotion' would grow deeper, and it would   
  
interfere...  
  
He sighed in the darkness. Love was new, and unfamiliar, but sorrow   
  
was also new, and it was painful.  
  
  
  
"Ritsuko?"  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"I have something to ask..."  
  
"This conversation is being monitored, you know."  
  
"I don't care. The sixth child, what is he?"  
  
Ritsuko almost laughed out loud at the question. What was he? Sent by   
  
Seele to advance their schedule, what else _could_ he be?  
  
"He is probably the last Angel."  
  
  
  
Kaworu stared up at Unit Zero. This was the time: the time for his   
  
kind to return to the Earth by returning to which they had been   
  
spawned from. It was ironic: he would use this mockery of Adam in   
  
order to get to his true goal. But still, there was doubt...  
  
He breathed deep, simultaneously hating and loving what others would   
  
have called 'emotional conflict', and called out, "Come, Adam's dark   
  
shadow, servant of the Lillum! It is time!"  
  
He floated into the air and proceeded down to Terminal Dogma through   
  
the large vertical shaft, knowing that Unit Zero would be close   
  
behind.  
  
  
  
"Unit Zero just activated!"  
  
"What? Where's the pilot?"  
  
"It's unmanned! It just switched on by itself!"  
  
"We're detecting an A.T. Field inside the Geofront! It's headed   
  
straight for Terminal Dogma!"  
  
"Unit Zero?"  
  
"No...it's blue! It's the final Angel!"  
  
"Then Ritsuko was right...," Misato whispered to herself in the   
  
surrounding chaos.  
  
  
  
Watching the split second transformation from idleness to alertness   
  
from high above, Kouzou Fuyutsuki's eyes widened as he realised what   
  
Seele's plan had been all along.  
  
"Dear God," he spoke to himself. "Seele has sent us an Angel."  
  
  
  
"He's...an Angel? Kaworu?"  
  
"I'm afraid so, Asuka."  
  
"No..." Asuka couldn't believe it. How? He had been so...human...  
  
The restraints that held Unit Two dropped, and the Eva began its   
  
descent.  
  
  
  
From above him, Kaworu heard a noise, over the sounds of Unit Zero's   
  
jets echoing in the giant tube. It was Unit Two, being piloted by   
  
Asuka. Just as he had suspected: the Lillum, in this respect at least,   
  
were predictable.  
  
"I was waiting for you, Asuka."  
  
"Kaworu! You betrayed me!" Unit Two was now engaged in combat with   
  
Unit Zero, with both Progressive Knives bared. Kaworu watched as his   
  
giant blue puppet stabbed Unit Two in its arm, almost feeling Asuka's   
  
pain. In his momentary lapse of concentration, he missed the fact that   
  
Unit Two's weapon was coming toward him. It struck a glowing wall,   
  
inches from his face.  
  
"You...you have your own A.T. Field?"  
  
"You Lillum are so foolish. Haven't you figured out yet that what you   
  
call the A.T. Field is merely the light of my soul, that which we shut   
  
off to not let others in to the sacred space of our minds?"  
  
  
  
Misato and Makoto watched as the display showed the two Evangelions   
  
drop.  
  
"This is it, isn't it? The end?"  
  
"Yes. If anything unusual happens..."  
  
"I know. I'll initiate the destruct sequence for this entire facility.   
  
It would be better than letting Third Impact occur." Makoto paused for   
  
moment. "Besides, dying with you next to me wouldn't be a bad way to   
  
go."  
  
"Thankyou."  
  
  
  
At the bottom of the shaft, Kaworu left the two Evangelions locked in   
  
combat. He had become well enough in tune with Unit Zero to be able to   
  
control it...well, perhaps not _control,_ but at least use it to keep   
  
Unit Two busy. He floated toward the giant door, the final obstacle,   
  
and it slowly slid open.  
  
  
  
"The final door has been unlocked."  
  
"Heaven's Gate is open. Get ready."  
  
  
  
Kaworu eyed the white, seven-eyed giant impaled on the red cross,   
  
submerged in a sea of LCL. This was Adam, captured by the Lillum, but   
  
now to be released.  
  
He floated up, to look closer, and thought out loud, "That which has   
  
come from Adam must now return to Adam...  
  
"_But is this Adam?_  
  
"No...this is not what I came for. This is..._Lillith?_ Is this   
  
Lillith?" His gaze dropped.  
  
"Fooled by humans...perhaps they are more than we expected..."  
  
"Kaworu!"  
  
Unit Two had been able to best Unit Zero, despite receiving several   
  
injuries. Asuka's blood-red Eva now stood in the doorway to what   
  
Kaworu now recognised as Lillith. Kaworu thought to himself: _maybe we   
  
are not destined to return..._  
  
Unit Two reached out and seized Kaworu, and this time, there was no   
  
A.T. Field to stop it.  
  
"I was wrong about you Lillum. It had come down to my race or yours,   
  
as I always knew it would. That is why I am asking you to kill me,   
  
Asuka."  
  
"What?"  
  
"We cannot exist side by side. With my death, you will be able to   
  
reach the next stage in your evolution. Only one of our species is   
  
destined to live on, and you are not the existence that should that   
  
should die. I thank you, Asuka: because of you, my life was   
  
meaningful.  
  
"I love you, Asuka."  
  
Forever seemed to pass until Unit Two placed pressure on the hand that   
  
held the final Angel.  
  
  
  
Ikari stared up at the giant water jets hosing the blood off Unit Two.   
  
After all Seele had been through to try and stop him from interfering   
  
with their scenario, he still held the upper hand. All of them would   
  
come back soon, for a gathering, for the Third Impact, and they would   
  
be reunited...  
  
Did Seele know? Know what drove him, possessed him, what had made him   
  
send away all he held in his heart for the pursuit of a faint hope?   
  
Possibly, but that could have been why they kept him around.  
  
"They will all be here soon," he said quietly amid the roar of the   
  
water. "Rei, my son, they will all be one, and I will see her again."  
  
Ikari smiled.  
  
"And Keel wondered why I kept Rei close."  
  
Gendo Ikari threw back his head and laughed.  
  
  
  
Asuka walked slowly down the one of the corridors in Nerv, trying to   
  
ascertain how she felt. The only person that had ever shown human   
  
emotions to her had been...not human. Kaworu had been pained by   
  
sorrow, a new emotion for him; sorrow was an old emotion for Asuka,   
  
but it still hurt just as much.  
  
Footsteps other than her own caused her to look up from the ground, to   
  
see Kensuke half-running down the corridor.  
  
"Asuka!"  
  
_Why wasn't he here?,_ she thought, and unusually, there was no malice   
  
in a thought that would normally warrant some for her.  
  
"I'm sorry I'm late...the Angel, what happened?"  
  
"I took care of it. Alone." _I won't cry any more!_  
  
"Alone? But wasn't...wasn't Kaworu here?"  
  
At the mention of his name, Asuka broke her promise to herself, and   
  
began to cry into Kensuke's shoulder.  
  
Kensuke, unsure how to proceed and even more unsure about why Asuka   
  
was crying, asked cautiously, "What happened?"  
  
"Kaworu...," she managed through her tears. "He was...the last   
  
Angel...he said he loved me..."  
  
Kensuke now put his arms around her shoulders, comforting her, and   
  
whispered to himself, "I love you too, Asuka."  
  
  
  
-Derek Zischke  
  
ageless_strange@optusnet.com.au  
  
  
  
"Do you suffer from long-term memory loss? I can't remember..."  
  
-Chumbawhamba  



	10. Epilogue - Braced For Impact

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis: Evangelion is not my property. It belong to   
  
GAINAX and all affiliates. I am not asking for any money for this   
  
written work. It is permissible to copy, quote, distribute, or in any   
  
other way reproduce the following texts only if they contain this   
  
disclaimer and credit to the author, or I will strike you down with   
  
great vengeance and furious anger.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
*Epilogue - Braced for Impact*  
  
  
  
A knock at the door of Misato's apartment put Rei into full   
  
alertness.  
  
"It is time," she whispered to Shinji.  
  
"Time for what?"  
  
"Time for the next stage in our evolution." She stood and began   
  
to walk to the door.  
  
Shinji felt panic creep into his mind. Why was Rei acting like   
  
this? Evolution?  
  
"What do you mean, 'evolution'? What are you talking about?"  
  
"I have to leave. So do you."  
  
"Leave? Will I see you again?"  
  
"Yes." Rei turned toward him, and he could see tears streaming   
  
down her cheeks. The door swung open to reveal two Second Sector   
  
Agents. They began talking, but Shinji only heard the final words   
  
he would hear Rei speak.  
  
"When All are One."  
  
  
  
"Are you Asuka Langley Sohryu?"  
  
"That's me...what do you want?"  
  
  
  
"Kensuke Aida?"  
  
  
  
"Misato Katsuragi?"  
  
  
  
"Maya Ibuki?"  
  
  
  
"Makoto Hyuga?"  
  
  
  
"Shigeru Aoba?"  
  
  
  
"Ritsuko Akagi."  
  
"What do you want, Commander? It's over, isn't it?"  
  
"No. Now is only the beginning."  
  
  
  
-Derek Zischke  
  
ageless_strange@optusnet.com.au  
  
  
  
"Do you suffer from long-term memory loss? I can't remember..."  
  
-Chumbawhamba  



End file.
